Jack fished a bag out of the reporter’s bin and looked it over.
“Good,” Taylor said. “Then help us move these bodies so we can get goin’.”
The group moved quickly to pile the slain Zuul out of sight then secure the unconscious Rukori driver to the abandoned hauler. From there, they boarded the flatbed of the confiscated hauler and took positions at their respective storage bins.
“And now comes the fun part,” Jack muttered past his oxygen mask from Bin One.
“Ah, stop your bitchin’ and get in already,” Stan said from Bin Two. “It’s a tight space, not a death trap. It ain’t gonna kill ya.”
Smitty rolled her eyes from Bin Three and climbed in.
“You’re with me,” Taylor said to Lisa.
The reporter did a double-take. “Wait, I was just in that. There’s no way we’ll both fit.”
“It’ll take some creative bending on our part, but we’ll make it work,” Taylor said. “Now get in.”
Lisa put on her oxygen mask and slid down inside the container. Once she’d gotten settled, Taylor handed his rifle to Valawn then wedged himself in beside her.
“Comfortable?” Valawn asked from overhead.
“Not even a little,” Taylor said past his mask.
Valawn reached down and handed Taylor a small vial filled with a mucus-green liquid. “I must apologize in advance for this. Harmless or not, it’s nothing if not effective when unleashed in the open.”
Taylor snatched the vial from his host’s fingers. “Yeah, yeah. Hurry up and seal us in already so we can get it over with.”
Valawn nodded and looked to the other bins. “Everyone ready?”
“Ready,” the others answered.
“See you on the other side.” Taylor saluted the Rukori with his vial.
“Yes, my friend. You most certainly shall.” With that, Valawn closed the lids and locked the seals, plunging Taylor and the others into total darkness.
* * * * *
Chapter 14: Intruders
“So,” Lisa’s voice said in the dark. “Do I get to ask what’s in the creepy vial of green goo Valawn just handed you?”
“You’ll find out soon enough,” Taylor said. “Suffice it to say, it’s nothin’ we have to ingest, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“It was, actually,” Lisa said.
Taylor reached into the tac vest under his tunic and produced a pin light, which he flipped on.
“What’s the plan?” Lisa asked, her face illuminated from the top down.
“The landin’ field we’re headed to rests right outside the Krulig operations compound,” Taylor said. “That means we can’t seize the shuttle out in the open, or we risk bein’ spotted by the watchtowers. Once we’re inside the cargo hold, though, all bets are off.”
“So we’re taking the bins into the shuttle, then jumping out like some sort of jack-in-the-box?” Lisa’s expression soured. “That’s thin, Taylor. Real thin.”
Taylor wasn’t arguing. Still, it was the best plan they’d been able to devise, given the circumstances.
The name Valawn appeared in Taylor’s lower-right field of vision.
“This is a comm test,” the RFC leader said. “Chief Van Zant, can you hear me?”
“Yeah, Valawn, I’ve got you.” Taylor widened the channel to bring in the others via their own pinlinks. “Smitty, Jack, Stan. This is a party line. You got a clear copy?”
“Five by five,” the trio said.
The shipment hauler’s engines sputtered to life, rumbling the floor under Taylor.
“We’re preparing to depart,” Valawn said. “I’ll talk you through as much of what I see on the ride in as I can. After that, I’ll leave the line open so you can listen in the rest of the way.”
“Roger that,” Taylor said. “We’re standin’ by.”
The engine outside ka-chunked into gear as the world beyond the bin began to move.
“I won’t even lie, man,” Lisa grumbled. “Had I known I was gonna ride this box all the way into the lion’s den, I might’ve opted to stay behind after all.”
Now she gets it. An unseen chime interrupted Taylor’s thought. “What was that?”
“Gimme a second.” Lisa finagled her arm out from under Taylor’s back then twisted herself to reach her bag.
“Can I help you?” Taylor winced.
“Just chill out. I’m almost there.”
“Easy for you to say,” Taylor growled. “You’re not the one with a knee diggin’ into his groin like a friggin’ railroad spike.”
Lisa froze. “Oh, right. Sorry.”
Taylor exhaled with relief when the reporter shifted again, this time to pull a slate from her bag. “What is it?”
“I don’t know,” Lisa said. “According to this, we just passed in close proximity to a major power source.”
“What kind of power source?” Taylor asked. “Like a generator?”
Lisa swiped through a series of screens. “No, this is way bigger, and definitely nuclear. Here. Check out these neutron readings.” She showed him the device.
What the hell?
“We’ve just cleared the checkpoint out of Nyo,” Valawn said. “We’re approaching the landing field now. I have a visual on the shuttle.”
“Security?” Smitty asked.
“So far, I count two Zuul standing guard at the boarding ramp with another two exiting the debarkation hatch.” A pop of static crackled the line. “Check that. Make it three Zuul exiting the hatch.”
Taylor rubbed his chin. “How about Krulig officers.”
“None so far, but that’s not surprising” Retay said. “The Krulig typically leave this sort of work to the Zuul. I do, however, expect we’ll cross paths with them on the stargate, if only in the control room.”
That makes sense if there’s only three hundred of them.
“Coming up on the shuttle now,” Valawn said. “Going silent.”
The hauler’s momentum slowed as the engines decelerated.
“Good day to you, sirs,” They could hear Valawn’s voice say.
“You’re late,” a feral voice snapped. “The shuttle has been prepared for nearly twenty minutes.”
“My humblest apologies,” Valawn said. “We got a last-second communique from the stargate crews, indicating a shortage on dako loins. As you know, that particular cut of meat takes time to process and pack. Otherwise, it goes bad almost instantly.”
One of the Zuul snorted. “I care not for your excuses, Rukori. Tell me, where is the rest of your group?”
“Back in the square,” Valawn said. “They were needed elsewhere for the tribute ceremonies. Thus, my partner and I agreed to deliver this shipment ourselves.”
Another snort. “Stand aside.”
“That’s our cue to pop ‘em, y’all,” Taylor said to the other Humans via pinlink. He then cracked open his vial and poured out its contents.
Nothing happened.
C’mon, c’mon!
Lisa’s eyes went saucer-wide.
Fargin A! Taylor buried his nose in his sleeve, bile rushing to his throat, as the foul scents of rotting meat and porta-johns invaded his nostrils. Oh, that’s just so wrong!
Footfalls pattered the ground outside of the bin. A sniff ensued, followed by a flurry of revolted sneezes.
“Is there a problem?” Valawn asked.
The Zuul snarled back.
“Oh, dear,” Retay said. “Forgive me, sirs, but I think we may have a problem.”
“What is it?” Valawn asked.
“The seal on Bin One seems to be failing,” Retay said. “We must hurry or we’ll lose the load.”
“It is the same for this one as well,” another Zuul said.
Taylor’s heart jumped when fingers jiggled the bin lid above his head.
“No, you idiot!” a third Zuul protested. “If you open this travesty out here, we will be forced to impound it!”
“A thousand apologies, sirs.” Valawn withdrew
his hand. “What, then, would you have us do? If we do not act to repair these containers now, we risk losing the entire load, thus prompting the ire of Lord Prefect Sadeed to rain down upon us all.”
A scrum of alien voices chattered off to the side. When they returned, it was the initial Zuul who spoke.
“Dako meat is for Krulig, not Zuul. Let the reptiles deal with it. Take the shipment aboard and conduct your repairs in the cargo hold.”
“Are you certain?” Valawn asked.
“Yes, yes,” the Zuul snapped. “Now get this awfulness away from here.”
Taylor relaxed against the bin wall and said a silent thank you as the hauler began moving again.
“You knew the Zuul would sniff the containers, so you used the vial goop to throw them off our scents.” Lisa looked impressed. “Nice play.”
“Thanks,” Taylor said. “I use the same trick huntin’ deer back home, only in that case they’re the only ones who can smell the maskin’ agent.”
“We could only be so lucky.” Lisa frowned and pinched her nose.
“Ain’t that the truth,” Taylor agreed.
Once the hauler had reached the edge of the boarding ramp, the entire bin tilted upward as the vehicle climbed into the hold. From there, a series of mechanized whines ensued, followed by a pair of ka-chunks as something grabbed hold of the container to shift it into the bay.
“We’re almost there,” Valawn murmured. “We’ll launch as soon as Retay returns from debarking the hauler. Then we’ll spring the trap.”
“Acknowledged.” Taylor whispered the update to Lisa, whose smirk implied a less than thrilled attitude about enduring an atmo breech in these conditions.
Hey, you’re the one who snuck off ship to be here. Taylor probably shouldn’t have taken pleasure in that, but he did. As it turned out, the launch experience was nothing short of misery for both of them—the racket and pounding of limbs, to say nothing of the stench. By the time it ended, Taylor’s head was ringing like a bell tower, and his muscles felt like pounded hamburger.
“You okay?” Lisa asked, breathless.
“Sure,” Taylor muttered, his face pressed to hers as both Humans hung suspended in zero G against the bin lid. “I’m all fargin aces here.”
“Sarcasm doesn’t become you, Chief.”
“Yeah, well. You’ll have to forgive me. I get a little testy when I’ve chewed off most of my teeth enamel.”
Lisa gulped and rubbed her head. “Touché.”
As the shuttle broke free of Rukoria’s orbit, Taylor listened through the open comm as Valawn bantered with Retay while continually engaging the Zuul who’d been assigned to them. None of the beasts obliged, of course, but that was okay. The exchange told Taylor’s team how many aliens were present in the passenger cabin, which had been Valawn’s intention the whole time.
“Pardon me, sirs,” Retay said. “My partner and I should check the bin seals to ensure our patches are holding properly. I presume one of you will need to accompany us into the hold?”
One Zuul gave a cursory grunt, but multiple mag-booted footfalls followed.
“Steady, y’all,” Taylor said via pinlink. “Once this happens, it’s gonna go down fast. Listen for your signals and make every shot count.”
“Ayew,” the others said softly.
The footfalls continued until eventually Taylor could hear them outside of his bin. They’re in the hold. He pulled his Firestorm and waited.
Two knocks tapped his bin lid, then a pause, then one more.
Two Zuul total, one in front of my container. Taylor listened as Valawn trudged down the row of containers, relaying similar information to the others.
“What are you doing?” one of the Zuul asked.
“Checking the volume levels for the preservation fluid,” Valawn said. “Everything sounds good.”
Taylor glanced to a nervous Lisa.
“Let’s begin from the front,” Valawn said. “Retay, if you’d be so kind as to access Bins Three and Four, I’ll handle One and Two.”
“Understood,” Retay answered.
Now it was Taylor’s turn to feel anxious. Easy, T.
A final beat passed as the sound of fidgeting fingers returned to Taylor’s bin lid.
“Seal check in three,” Valawn said, “two…one.”
A rush of light swamped Taylor’s vision as he pushed up from the bin, Firestorm in hand.
“Intru—”
Pop, pop.
The Zuul’s last syllable exited the back of his head in a floating stream of skull bone and gray matter.
The other Zuul lunged to counter, but Jack cut him down. Pop, pop, pop.
“Runner!” Stan shouted via pinlink.
A third Zuul released its boot lock and leapt for the exit, having entered the hold at the last second.
Pop, pop, pop.
The beast tumbled into a wall, sans most of its cranium, courtesy of Smitty’s Firestorm.
“Clear,” the Aussie said.
“Jack, Stan.” Taylor turned his head. “You’re up.”
The old sergeants braced against their respective bins and pushed off, soaring in a single-file line through the exit and into the corridor outside. A few seconds later, fresh screams sounded through additional gunfire.
Talk to me, fellas. Taylor exhaled when a squelch broke the comm silence.
“The cockpit’s secure,” Jack said. “Y’all can come on up when ready.”
Taylor glanced back to his bin. “Lisa, you okay?”
The reporter waved a hand.
“Good,” Taylor said. “Stay here with the Rukori until we come back. Smitty, you’re with me.”
Taylor took point with the Aussie behind him. Together, they pushed off and floated into the corridor then hooked right past two more Zuul corpses to the cockpit.
“Chief,” Stan greeted.
“Sergeant,” Taylor answered. He then turned his attention to Stan’s colleague who held a brown-furred Zuul pilot at gunpoint.
“Everybody,” Jack said. “I’d like you to meet Coco.”
The Zuul’s beady, brown-eyed glare suggested this clearly wasn’t its name.
“Coco,” Jack said. “Say hi to the family.”
Coco hissed a response.
Thwack!
“Don’t be an asshole,” Stan said.
The Zuul cupped its skull as the Mississippi sergeant re-trained his pistol on the alien’s head.
“Look here, friend.” Jack keyed an indicator light on his own weapon. “That there is a munitions tracker. It tells me how much juice I’ve got left in my chem mag. Right now, it’s showin’ green as a mostly full load. If I eject said mag, it goes red.” Jack demonstrated. “Just in case you were wonderin’, this light would show that same shade of beautiful crimson were I to expend the mag’s contents into your face, an act I also mean to demonstrate should you elect not to cooperate with us. Now, nod if you get me.”
Coco flashed a razor-toothed snarl but nodded just the same.
“Good boy.” Jack patted the alien’s head. “He’s all yours, Chief.”
“What’s our ETA to the stargate?” Taylor asked.
“About three hours,” the pilot said in a male voice. “Docking will take another ten minutes once we’ve acquired our clearance.”
“And I presume you have the codes?” Taylor asked.
The Zuul uttered a growl.
“Now Coco,” Jack said. “We talked about this, remember?”
The Zuul dropped its snout. “I do. I will transmit as soon as we are hailed.”
“Excellent,” Taylor said. “Smitty, check the status of our supplies. I’ll radio our progress back to the Osyrys.”
* * * * *
Chapter 15: Stealth
The shuttle was of the same Maki origin as the Zuul’s warships, which meant its amenities were anything but tailored to the Human physiology. The spaces were cramped, the corridors were tight, and the seats felt more akin to that of a child’s jump seat than
something designed for an adult, Human or otherwise.
And here I thought straddlin’ a dirt bike was awkward. Taylor shifted to get the weird lumbar hump out of his back before it could permanently damage his spine. It didn’t help. On the upshot, at least the stench of that vial crap wore off.
“Hey, Chief,” Jack called from the cockpit. “You might wanna get up here.”
Thankful for the reprieve, Taylor unbuckled from his torture rack and pushed off toward the cockpit. There, he found Coco at the nav controls, while Jack and Stan guarded him from behind.
“What’s our status?” Taylor asked.
Jack glanced past the Zuul’s shoulder at the display. “If I’m readin’ this right, we oughta be nearin’ visual range of the stargate any second now.”
As if on cue, all eyes turned up to see the giant ring creep into sight through the forward viewport.
It was bigger than Earth’s stargate, Taylor thought. At least, that’s how it appeared from a distance. “When should we expect their hail?”
A chime from the dashboard answered the question.
“How should I proceed?” Coco grumbled.
“Put it to the speakers,” Taylor said. “I want to hear the conversation.”
The brown-furred alien grudgingly complied.
“Inbound shuttle,” a male voice hissed. “Transmit your ident credentials for stargate docking clearance.”
Coco reached for the respond key.
“Ahem.” Stan poked the alien’s back with the tip of his Firestorm. “Just in case you were thinkin’ of gettin’ creative here, I’d advise against it. Stay cool, get us onto that admin station, and you’re apt to make it through this mess alive. Cross me, though, and you’ll join your pack in the Entropy afterlife.”
Coco snorted. “Zuul do not believe in an afterlife.”
“Well, that tracks,” Jack muttered. “Remind me to tell you about Jesus later if we don’t kill you first.”
Coco glowered at the old sergeants.
“Go on,” Stan said.
The Zuul returned to his console. “Stargate control, this is the Shuttle Santuva. Prepare to receive ident credentials…now.”
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