My first post! Alpha Starts her writing career.

Hello!!!!!! Alpha here! This is my first blog post, and until I’m 16, I will refer to myself on this blog, as Alpha. Anyway, I’ll be putting stories up for you guys to read. Here is the first one.


 

 

Message Carriers

Bringing The Message
Can four animals come together to save their masters and a entire battalion?

 

Chapter 1
Jaqe

Jaqe was just a farm pigeon from the French countryside. His life was good, daily feed, and his own roost. Then talk of a war started. Germans. Jaqe wanted nothing to do with it. He was young, and wanted to live a full life. But that all changed. Carrier pigeons were in demand. A antenna was put on top of the pigeon house. A Carrier pigeon outpost was put up in the farmyard. Jaqe watched all his friends enlist. “Why?” he would ask them. They would all say, “I want to serve my country.” Jaqe was a little impressed, and a bit annoyed. They were throwing away their lives. Jaqe watched them from the cafe at the top of the pigeon house. His best friend, a mouse named Hindenburg, told him about his latest invention.
“I can fly like those planes I saw on the pictures.” Hindenburg said. He was plain exited.
“Mice don’t fly, remember your last plane? You ended up in a lake.” Jaqe pointed out.
“That was last week.”
“And you only had a week to make this one, while still coughing up pond water.”
“Great inventors, your thick”
“I try.”
“I’m flying this thing, you’ll see, this one won’t rip.”
“Bet you five corn you crash.”
“Bet you ten I’ll make it to the trees.”
“Deal.”
They shook hands, just as a little robin burst in.
“Jaqe! Hindenburg!” he yelled.
“Michele!” Jaqe said happily.
“Wait, dose your mother know?” Mitchel’s mother scared Jaqe sometimes. Mitchel hesitated, then said, “Yep! Hindenburg, are you going to be flying the new plane today?”
“Yep, and I’m getting ten corn as well.” Hindenburg said said smugly at Jaqe. Jaqe whispered to Mitchel,
“I’m getting five pieces of corn.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure.”
“Time to get ready!” Hindenburg yelled, rushing to his workshop.
“Come on.” Jaqe said with a smile.
“I wonder if he’l land in the muck heap like last month.” They went outside, and Hindenburg came screaming out in a shiny plane. He flew over to the trees, but something blew inside the plane. It spiraled down and crashed into a stump. Hindenburg landed face first in the center of the stump.
“Bulls eye!” someone yelled.
Jaqe flew down to check on Hindenburg. He was just a bit dazed.
“My next one will be better.” he assured them. “Just have to tighten that one valve.
“And add a parachute.” Jaqe added. “And an eject button.”
“Good ideas.” Hindenburg mused. Mitchel nodded, then ran over to the outpost. He had also enlisted, and liked to watch the others. Hindenburg stumbled away from the stump. Jaqe lifted off, and flew back to the caf’e. Hindenburg came up a few minuets later.
“I here their shipping out soon.” he said. Jaqe was startled.
“How soon is soon?” he asked.
“Tomorrow.”
“Okay…..” Jaqe said, running it over in his mind a few times. Then he looked outside.
“It’s getting late, time to turn in.”
“Agreed.” They both went to their homes. Jaqe’s was a nice, roomy place next to the now-almost-empty rooms of his friends. He sighed and fell asleep. He dreamed of his love, a officer for the CPcor. (Carrier Pigeon cor). Then of the war. Of a few other animals. Who talked very differently from him. One was a large dog, another a horse. The third was, wait, a wolf? They all seemed concentrated on a battle. “Jaqe, we need to get that message to the nearest outpost.” said the dog.
“How do you..” he was cut off by someone shaking him. “What?” he said, sitting up. He saw Hindenburg by the bed.
“Come on, you don’t want to miss the send off.” he said, smiling. The send off was over before it began. The trucks carrying the pigeons left. But then, a robin flew up, four chicks behind her.
“Have you seen Mitchel?” she asked.
“No, we thought he was with you… Oh no…” he said, realizing what was happening. He lifted off, flying after the battalion. Hindenburg rushed to his workshop, and got out a newer plane. The valve was tighter, and he could eject if necessary. They flew after the battalion, and into a war.
Chapter 2
Maxwell

Maxwell was a wise cracking, funny New Yorker. If New Yorkers could be German Shepherd/Alsken Malamutes. That was what Maxwell was. He was chosen to be a war dog, and he gladly accepted. He was eager to go to the front lines. Training was hard, but Maxwell pushed. Her erned the nickname, “Iron Max.” He got his handler, Sargent Ratter James. Maxwell liked Ratter. They were a natural team. In no time at all, they were at the front. Maxwell fought fiercely. Avoiding gunfire easily. His best bud besides Ratter was a German Shepard named John. Entertainment was easy to get in the trenches when no battles were going on. Watching Maxwell and John hunt rats was one of them. Maxwell’s fur was so thick, some said you couldn’t get a bullet past it. But no one wanted to test that in case they were wrong. One day, after a battle, every one was tired, and a bit battered. Even the dogs were beat. Maxwell and John chatted. So did their handlers. John’s was Private Charlie Jack. All four were friends. A tight knit group of buddies. As they chatted, Ratter and Charlie talked about girls. Maxwell and John talked about what they would do after the war.
“I’m going to live with Charlie. He tells me about his house and his other dog that he left with his mom.” John said wistfully.
“I’m going to go back to New York. Ratter lives in the next building over to my old family’s. I can’t wait to go home.”
“Me neither.”
“Want to hunt some rats?”
“As long as I get to hunt the little ones.”
“Deal.”
So they hunted rats for the rest of the afternoon. When bedtime came, all four slept near one another. He started dreaming. He saw three other animals. A horse, a pigeon, and, wait on sec, a wolf? “We must save the troops.” the horse said. “I agree.” said the wolf. The pigeon turned to him, “What do you think, Maxwell?” He shot awake to the sound of guns. He scrambled up, and got out of the way. He found a dropped sack with a rope attaching it to another. He got under the rope and started running to the next heavy artillery. They patted him on the head and took the bags, witch contained shells. Maxwell started running everywhere. Helping where ever he could. Ratter said, “Good boy Maxy!” Charlie patted his head. Then everything went wrong. Two bullets whizzed into the trench. One hit Ratter in the chest. The other missed.
“Ratter!” Maxwell and Charlie yelled.

Chapter three
Jeramy

Jeramy had been a British farm horse before the war. He had pulled wagons, and could be ridden. Then the war…… Jeramy went with his master’s son, called Mick. Mick joined the fight on the ground. Riding into battle on Jeramy. Who was about 18hh. His blood bay cote was also intimidating. His best friend was another horse, a French mare named Parie. Her rider was a kind man named Jerry. Parie and Jeramy were more then friends. Mick and Jerry were buds, so it was easier to talk to her. But one night, his whole world flipped. Mick had been talking to Jerry as they rode side by side. Jearmy was just saying, “I’m glad I met you.” Mick was in the middle of a word, when a bullet struck Jerry. Mick whipped out his gun and grabbed hold of Parie. “I’m scared.” she whispered to me.
“Don’t be, Mick and I will keep you safe.”
Gunfire sounded, and Mick fell off. A bullet struck the dirt behind Jeramy. He and Parie took off running. He wanted to go back, but he was too scared. But the next thing they knew, Jeramy fell into a trench. Parie ran away, and a growl sounded behind him.

Chapter 4
Snow

Snow had been helping all along. He took out enemy soldiers before they had a chance to fire on the allies. He even befriend a human. But when they failed to save two men in the forest, Snow began to feel listless. One of the survivors said his name was Mick. Another was named Jarry. Apparently Jerry had been shot, and that had started a fight. Then Mick had fallen off his horse and they had taken off.
“I can’t blame Jeramy and Parie. It was scary.” Snow’s human, Alex Jones, tended to Jerry’s wounds.
“Where is Parie?” Jerry asked.
“We don’t know.”
“Then start looking.” He tried to get up, but clutched his bloody side. Snow provided a crutch. He was tall, sturdy, and firm. It made him ideal for doing this. Snow looked at Alex, a medic. “Snow, you never cease to amaze me, ya big wolf, you.” Mick and Jerry seemed shocked.
“This is a wolf?” they asked.
“He’s bigger then average, but yes.”
“Wow.” the said in unison.
Snow just stood, providing Jerry with a crutch. Jerry then leaned on Alex for support. But a whinny attracted his attention. Snow started running over, and found a horse, and a dog in the trench.

 

 

Chapter 5
Jaqe
Mitchel was indeed on the transport. Jaqe flew after them, but a firefight started. The man with a few carrier pigeons was shot. Jaqe tried to open the cage door, but was grabbed. “Take this home, or else we are doomed.” the man said, putting a message in a container and put it on Jaqe. Jaqe nodded. “I will.” he said. Then started flying. But another fight sounded. A frightened whinny, a growl. He dived in, and found a silver wolf standing at the top, heaving like he had run all the way here. A horse was trapped in the trench. A dog was growling at it. The horse was struggling up, and the silver wolf leaped over the horse and landed in front of the dog. All growling ceased. The horse said, “You, you smell like Jerry.” the wolf looked at it. “You mean the Jerry down the rode, the one that got shot?” he asked.
The dog coked his head. “I know that smell. Your a med dog, aren’t you?”
“Med Wolf” the wolf corrected. “My friend is a medic. I help out a lot.”
“Um, hello, yes, you with the fur.” Jaqe called down. He landed on the horses back.
“Yes?” all three of them said. It was a mix of accents. The wolf and dog sounded American, the horse sounded British.
“We have another problem.” Jaqe said, a little self conscious of his French accent.
“We do.” the dog agreed.
“Yha.” the wolf said.
“We most certainly do.” the horse said.
“Then lets get out of here!” Jaqe yelled.
“One thing.” the wolf said, then howled. “Alex will know to come. I smell human blood.”
“Now lets go!” Jaqe yelled. The horse galloped out of the trench. With the pigeon on the horse, flanked by two odd looking dogs, they were the most mismatched bunch in history. When they were out of danger, they all introduced themselves. Jaqe went first. “My name is Jaqe.”
Then the dog. “I’m Maxwell, but you can call me Max.”
Then the horse, “I’m Jeramy.”
Finally, the wolf. “Everyone calls me Snow.” he said with a sigh.
“Nice to meet all of you.” Jeramy. Maxwell grunted a little.
“This place is nothing like the city.”
“You kidding? This place is like home to me.” Snow said with a smile, just noticing a nice large snowdrift. He ran and pounced. Everyone got snow covered. “Let’s get going, we have endangered troops.” Jaqe said. And so they set off. “Wait, Mitchel!” Jaqe yelled. Then the little robin and the mouse in a plane came in. “Phew!” Jaqe said, “Now, we go.”

Chapter six
Maxwell

It was strange. Not having Ratter around. But their was plenty of other things to think of. Food, for one thing. He was considering the horse, but saw a rabbit. He stalked off and filled his belly on Snowshoe. He never found out Snow ate that day, however. But the horse was ruled out as it was still their, unscathed when he got back. Snow seemed respectable. With a air of dignity. The mismatched bunch continued. Mitchel, the robin,and Hindenburg, the mouse patrolled the air. It was not an easy trek. The horse seemed fine, as did Snow. But this was the most snow Maxwell had ever seen. (it’s only a few inches) They found a road. This enabled a gallop. They all ran as fast as they could. But night began to fall. “We must not stop.” Snow said.
“I’m with the talking snowdrift. Lives are at stake.”
“Then we will not stop.” Jeramy said. They continued, then Jeramy started to shiver. “Should we go faster?” he asked.
“Definitely.”
“It’ll get us their faster.”
“Go on ahead if we fall behind.”
Chapter 7
Jeramy

It was warmer, going faster. Until a bullet hit the ground in front of him. He reared. The dogs growled. The robin, Mitchel, landed on the saddle. A man came out, examining his new prizes. A Carrier pigeon, a horse, and two large, thick furred dogs. Then Snow lunged out, and Maxwell lunged for the men in the bushes. Jeramy reared. The men scattered at the horse’s fly hooves and the dog’s teeth. Jeramy ran ahead. The birds clinging to his saddle. The mouse’s plane overhead. The dogs didn’t come after them. All three shed at least three tears. They had risked everything to save them and the Allies. They started coming up on a farm, Jeramy ran into the middle and reared. Jaqe flew inside. Jeramy heaved, and a young girl led him into a stable. She saw how sweaty and cold he was, so she brushed him and gave him a blanket. He ate some hay. But still cried a little for their fallen comrades. Until a burst of cold filled the barn and two figures stood in the door.

Chapter 8
Snow

Snow ran to dodge bullets, but it was little good. He was shot a few times. So was Max. But they made it. Snow, wounded and weak, stumbled along. Max helped him, and he helped Max. That was how they made it to the farm. By leaning on one another. They stumbled into the barnyard just as the girl walked inside. But she turned around to close the door and saw the two. “Papa! Their are two dogs outside!” she said in French. Her Papa came outside. He saw the two also. A very bloody wolf and a very bloody dog. But judging from the way they were leaning on one another, they had not attacked each other. A different man came outside. “Snow!” he yelled, running over to his wolf. He took the two to the barn to clean them up. Snow was relieved to so Jeramy inside. “You made it!” he said.
“How are you alive?” Jeramy asked.
“Long story.” Max said.
“I agree with the city dog.” Snow said.
Afterward

After that daring adventure, the four became a team. Thanks to them, a whole battalion and Maxwell’s handler, Ratter, made it. Parie was found just outside the farm, and for once, Hindenburg’s plane stayed up the entire time. The next adventure of the new “Message Carries” is coming soon.

Notes:
This is a work of fiction based loosely on real events. Any relation to any actual names or events is entirely coincidental. But I am planning to get a mouse named Hindenburg, a horse named Jeramy, a wolf named Snow, and a German Malamute named Maxwell. I’m not shore if I can find a Carrier Pigeon. But if I can, it will be named Jaqe.


I’m not kidding.  Anyway, see ya in my next post! I will also be using this blog to publicize my work. Also, the names are spelled the way they are. Thanks for reading!

The Troublesome Broadcast Message

Back in the good-ole days of Windows NT (circa 1998) I was a member of IT support at a large multi-national corporation.  The campus I worked for was about five thousand people large.

Background: Windows 98/98/NT 4.0 had a neat little utility to send pop-up messages to specific machines.  It was a front end to the net send built-in command, and messages would appear almost instantaneously on the recipient’s machine in nice little window.  (Similar functionality still exists in more recent versions of Windows, but the messenger service no longer starts by default.)

So, one slow day a bunch of us were shooting the shit and getting a little rowdy.  I think there were some flying objects and maybe a nerf gun involved.  One of the upper-level techs, who shall remain unnamed, fired off a message to someone else: “John, look out behind you”.

Only, he didn’t get the machine name right.  He broadcast it to the entire campus.  5000+ machines.

A lesser-known feature of the net send command, and therefore of the messenger utility, was the ability to message an entire workgroup or domain.  To do so, you only need to specify the workgroup or domain name in the recipient box.  And that’s what he did – he intended John’s machine name but the domain was the default in the box — and he forgot to change it.

Hoo boy, that was some trouble, and being a political organization it nearly took the form of someone’s-getting-fired-type trouble.  It took the ‘lizard king’ email storm to finally let it die down completely.  I’ll save that story for another day, when I dig the entire email chain out of archives and obfuscate some details.