Alcantaran 1: Alien Abduction

by Terry Compton

  When they walked into the room, Tik had the pictures of the warships along with the armament data on the view screens. She had found some comfortable chairs for everyone and they all sat down. Kota did a brief explanation of the situation. He didn't mention that the trio had taken Auntie to escape the Bugs but just said the Bugs had issues with them. Ron explained they needed a confession from their attackers before they could take care of the warships. He asked for the police chief's permission to hunt them down and bring them in. The police chief gladly gave them the permission. He said he would call the station and alert all of his policemen to that fact, too. Ron and Gus excused themselves to take off immediately. Auntie had two likely locations already and they wanted to look them over. Kota, Zibo and Tik explained the rest of the idea about ending the war and uniting Europaische again. They made plans for bringing this idea to pass.

  Ron and Gus went to the upper cargo bay to pull the fliter out. Ron jumped in the pilot's seat and Gus climbed on the back. They flew out of Auntie and headed out of town. Both locations Auntie had found were in isolated areas not too far from the city. When they were close to the first site, Ron took the fliter down to tree top level. Auntie warned that they were very close, so Ron slowed to a crawl and actually dropped down to where he was brushing through the trees. Finally, Ron could just barely see a house through the branches. Gus stood up so he could see, too. They studied the grounds and the house; and before long, they spotted two Europaischen guards. They were almost hidden in some shrubbery. Peering closely, Ron and Gus spotted the stingerrays that they carried. The guards were facing toward two roads that approached the house. Ron saw a faint track that led away from the back of the house. Ron and Gus used ESP to discuss an attack plan. They decided to use the stingerrays to take out the two in the shrubs and then to land in the back. They would slip up on the house to see how many were in the house.

  Auntie interrupted to tell them she could check with the remote sensors and could also pinpoint where everyone was at. She reported four more creatures inside the house. She thought they were all Europaischens. They were all together in a large room in the front of the house where they appeared to be watching a TV or something. Ron and Gus made their move. They got ready and both fired at the same time. Both guards just slumped slightly where they sat, now unconscious. Ron flew to the rear of the house and quietly landed. They rushed to the rear of the house. Auntie reported the four were still sitting in the front room.

  Gus slipped up to the back door and stealthily tried it. It was unlocked, so he slowly and quietly opened it. He slipped inside and Ron followed. They found the door that led to the front room where the four were sitting. Gus silently opened the door and they both sprang through. They zapped the four with the stingerrays before any of them could even move. Ron and Gus moved through the rest of the house checking to make sure no one had found a way to avoid Auntie's sensors. There was nobody else in the house but they found quite a cache of weapons and communication gear. Gus went outside and hauled the two guards into the house while Ron started tying up the four inside. When they had everybody securely tied, Ron picked up a couple of stingerrays to supplement their weapons. Ron told Auntie to let the police chief know where the house was located and what they had found. He told her to advise him to get here quickly and quietly. If they hid in the house, they might capture other citizens who were involved with this conspiracy. Then they hurried to the fliter and headed for the second location.

  They used the same approach again and were studying the layout when Auntie reported the police had arrived at the first house. They had quickly loaded up the six unconscious citizens and were headed to jail with them. They had left a contingent of policemen to see who would show up in their trap.

  Ron saw at least four ways of escape from this house. The three roads coming in were guarded by two guards each and there was another one on the path. Ron guessed that with this many guards, there had to be at least one of their attackers in the house. Auntie confirmed that she had spotted two Nodac-Liujians and six more Europaischens. They were in three different rooms throughout the house.

  Gus quipped, "We need one of those invisibility cloaks now. It would be a lot easier to sneak up on the guards outside and might give us a better chance inside."

  Auntie answered, "But you do have invisibility cloaks. You can set your shields to make you invisible. When you turn it on, just think 'invisible'. The shield bends the light around you, making you invisible."

  Ron and Gus both tried it at the same time and were amazed to see the other one disappear. Ron backed the fliter away from the house and set it down 400 yards away. They decided that Gus would take care of two of the sets of guards in front and Ron would get the other set, plus the one in the rear. They quietly worked their way to the road. They knew they would make less noise walking down the middle of the road and besides, the guards couldn't see them. Ron and Gus quickly took care of the guards and made their way to the back door. Auntie warned them that one of the Europaischens was in that room.

  They slipped around the house to a window in an empty room. They quietly opened the window and slipped in the house. They closed the window and Ron opened the door a crack. There was an Europaischen there with his back to them. He was working in the kitchen fixing something to eat. Ron eased the door open a little more and looked around. There was a door leading to the front of the house and the rear door going outside. He slipped out and went to the door leading to the front of the house. Gus slipped into the kitchen and closed the door. The Europaischen went to the table to sit down and eat. When he had everything on the table and had sat down, Gus zapped him with the stingerray. The Europaischen slumped over into his food. They left him that way as they proceeded into the house.

  Auntie reported that the other five Europaischens were in the next room that Ron and Gus had to go through in order to get to the two Nodac-Liujians. Ron and Gus walked quietly into the room and saw the door leading to the Nodac-Liujians was closed. They pulled their stingerrays as well as the ones they had taken from the other house. They opened fire and soon all the Europaischens were out cold. Gus led the way to the door. Auntie reported that the Nodac-Liujians appeared to be lying on two beds on opposite sides of the room.

  Gus kicked the door open and rushed into the room. The Nodac-Liujians sat up in bed in surprise, trying to figure out what was happening. There was a sickening smack and the one on the right collapsed back onto the bed. Terror filled the eyes of the other one as he tried to get off the bed. He stood up and there was another smack. The Nodac-Liujian dropped unconscious across the bed. Ron hadn't seen anything moving but guessed that Gus had hit the two with his fist and knocked them out cold. He quickly moved through the rest of the house making sure it was secure. He switched off his shield and returned to the room with Gus and the two Nodac-Liujians. Gus had found some wire and had them both tied up. He had switched off his shield also and was moving to the five laying in the other room. Ron helped him tie the five up. Ron sent him to get the six out front while he tied up the one in the kitchen and dragged the rear guard inside. It didn't take long and they had them all tied up.

  "How are we going to get those two to talk? I'd like to beat on them until they confessed but I don't know if the Charter Alliance would accept it under those circumstances," Gus mused aloud.

  "Yeah, they probably deserve a good beating but I think you are right. I guess the beating will have to wait. Come on. I think I hear something in there. Open the door so Auntie can bring a sensor in here. We want clear no nonsense video when they confess," Ron answered.

  While Gus opened the door, Ron asked Auntie if the police chief, Fu, Kota and Zibo were still there. She said they were. They had just finished making plans and were getting ready to set them in motion. Ron asked her to show the scenes with sound from the up-coming interrogation. Ron asked if it was possible to open voice communication through the sensor and she said it would be done.

  Gus returned with a sensor
hovering over his shoulder. They both walked back into the room with the Nodac-Liujians. The one on the right had come to and was glaring at them. Gus walked over and shook the other until he awoke.

  The one on the right snarled, "Who are you? Why did you attack us?"

  "Oh, we didn't attack you. Did you see either of us?" Ron quipped.

  The creature didn't look as sure of himself as he asked, "If you didn't attack us, who did? I know the door crashed open and then something hit me."

  The other creature was showing signs of terror as he said, "I saw you fall and there was nothing there. I stood up and all of the sudden, it felt like someone hit me on the jaw with a club. That's the last thing I remember until just now."

  Ron caught on right quick and sent a thought to Gus to follow his lead. Then he said, "I think you just met our friends, the Alcantaran ghosts. They aren't happy at all that your race is helping the Bugs. They're really upset that you were shooting at us last night."

  He flashed a thought to Gus to think of the scariest creature he had ever seen and then to send the feelings of terror he had at that sighting. Gus thought of the spider creatures that had attacked the Bugs back on the mother ship. Gus didn't have to make up any feelings of terror about those creatures and he sent a strong signal at the two.

  The creature on the right which was obviously the spokesman said, "We don't know anything about an attack or any Alcantarans or Bugs. You've made a big mistake and you'll pay for it."

  "Oh, you may know the Bugs as Challeka Traders of Elgebar V, but the Alcantaran ghosts don't make mistakes. They have you both marked and it took a lot of pleading on our part to keep them at bay until we had a chance to talk to you a little more," Ron continued smoothly.

  Gus' ESP and Ron's story were getting to the two. The one on the left looked like he was about to wet himself but was afraid to do anything to call attention to himself.

  The one on the right made one more attempt at bravado as he said in a trembly voice, "Well, they made a mistake this time. We've been right here the entire two days since we landed. Someone stole our space ship last night and left us stranded. We're staying with friends until we can get our ship back."

  While he was talking, Ron asked Auntie if the sensor could project in 3-D and she said it could. He told her to find these two on the video from last night and project it in the middle of the room in half size.

  "Oh my, calling the Alcantaran ghosts liars will really make them mad," Ron said as he shook his head.

  Suddenly the shoot-out appeared in the middle of the room. Both of the creatures were prominently shown firing multiple times and then leaping into the get-away vehicle. The creature on the left promptly fainted and tipped over on the bed. The one on the right turned a ghostly white but barely remained conscious. Even with his hands tied behind his back, Ron could see him shaking like a leaf.

  "Would you care to revise that last statement?" Ron asked. "I'm afraid we can't keep the Alcantaran ghosts at bay much longer once they start showing your life like this. I heard of one creature that messed with them. It took years to die. They would torture it while it shrieked itself hoarse. They would stop to heal its voice and then start again. I think they can reach down inside of a creature and torture its soul as well as its body. Trouble was, none of the authorities could get close enough to the creature to do anything. They were completely helpless."

  Gus joined in, "Ron, you're scaring me. I know we're friends with the Alcantaran ghosts but I don't want to take a chance on that torture. Let's get out of here before they think we took too long with these two."

  The one on the left had come to while Ron was talking and now let out a terrible sounding moan and wet himself. As soon as the one on the right smelled his friend, he let go with his water and started moaning himself. Ron and Gus started to leave the room.

  Both creatures screamed in unison, "Please don't leave. We'll tell you anything you want. Just don't turn us over to the Alcantaran ghosts."

  "Why did you attack us last night?" Ron asked.

  "The Bugs have offered a bounty on you of 50,000 credits. They have offered 1,000,000 credits for your ship. We didn't think you looked that tough, so we were going to try for it," the creature on the right almost screamed.

  "Is that all there is to it?" Ron asked.

  The dam had burst and both creatures started telling about their planet wanting to expand and Europaische would fit right in with their plans. They were an advanced group making contact with the network the Bugs had set up earlier. Their warships should be here in six days and they would have control over the entire planet in three more. There were troop ships that would arrive by then to occupy the planet and enslave the population. The Bugs would back them all the way in this and would share in anything they found on the planet. The Bugs were staying clear so the Charter Navy wouldn't get involved but they would arrive in force once the Nodac-Liujia had the planet under control. Ron asked about the other two and new terror leaped into the two Nodac-Liujian's eyes. They had no idea how he knew so much about their numbers or their plans. The creatures said their shipmates had already crossed the border into the warring country. They were activating the Bug's network there.

  Ron acted like someone had just whispered in his ear. After a few seconds, he said, "We need to go discuss these things with the Alcantaran ghosts. They have some questions for us and we want to verify your story. The police will be here in a short time and I would suggest that you repeat your story to them and answer any questions about these secret networks. I'm pretty sure you will have an Alcantaran ghost escort and I'd hate to be in your shoes if you're lying."

  "Everything we've said is the gospel truth. We'll tell the police phone numbers, contacts and passwords. Please just protect us from the Alcantaran ghosts!" the two pleaded in terror.

  The two moved to the middle of the room and stood back to back. They were searching around the room for anything that moved. Ron and Gus left them there for the police.

  Once they were outside, Ron asked, "Auntie, did you record all of the interrogation and did everybody there see it all?

  She replied, "Yes, they all saw it. I've already made copies to show the authorities. Kota said that with this confession, the Charter Navy would be paying a call on Nodac-Liujia very shortly. Fu and the police chief will be in touch with national people shortly and they think the war will stop in a hurry. They will be preparing for the Nodac-Liujia warships and; if worse comes to worse, they will prepare to fight on the ground against an invasion."

  Ron told her, "Good. We're headed back to the fliter and will be back at the space port shortly."

  When they returned to the space port, they found that Fu and the police chief had left. They had appointments to talk to the mayor and other high ranking officials from their country. Auntie reported that the police had arrived and were in the process of moving all the prisoners to the jail. The two Nodac-Liujians didn't even want to wait until they got to the jail to start telling the police everything they knew about the invasion. The police told them they had to wait until they were at the station so they could tape everything.

  Ron and Gus flew into the back door of Auntie and secured the fliter again. Kota's ship alerted him to the fact that they were back. He came over to report that the Charter Navy was on the way to pay a 'State Visit' to Nodac-Liujia and to ask the leaders of the planet some hard questions.

  Kota looked around and whispered, "Did you just make up the part about the Alcantaran ghosts?"

  Ron and Gus looked at each other and Ron whispered back, "We can't talk about that yet. It's not safe."

  Kota knew better but he still looked spooked. Ron and Gus laughed, so Kota was pretty sure they were joking but….

  Kota left to see if he could get more details on the warships that were headed their way. After he left; Ron and Gus almost had to lay on the floor, they were laughing so hard. Auntie had alerted Tik that Kota was in the ship, so she came in as the two were laughing.

&
nbsp; "What's so funny? Did I miss something?" she asked.

  Ron told what Kota had said and his reaction when he had whispered back. Tik laughed but she still didn't get what made it so funny to the other two.

  Tik asked, "Why did those two sewer crawlers think there were ghosts around? You didn't find more invisibility capes, did you?"

  For an answer, Ron turned his shield invisible. Tik yelped in surprise which set the other two into a fit of laughter again. She was tapping her foot, working up an angry reply, when it struck her how those two had been knocked out without seeing anything. She broke into laughter again with the other two.

  When she finally caught her breath again, she asked, "Which of you two knocked them out?"

  Gus held up his hand because he still hadn't caught his breath. Finally, he said, "You know that Kota doesn't believe in ghosts and probably has thousands of scientists who can prove they don't exist, but right now, he isn't sure. I could see it in his face. This may be a blessing in disguise because I'll bet word of this will spread like crazy. Bounty hunters will be a lot more cautious now and I'll bet 50,000 credits a piece won't tempt most of them. As a matter of fact, when the Bugs get word of this, it will answer a lot of questions about missing relics and how we could unlock secrets that left their scientists in the dark for years."

  "Yeah, I hadn't thought about that. We need to build on this mysterious legend every chance we get. Drop a hint here and there but don't say anything overtly. This could be an edge that will keep the Bugs and their allies off our backs for awhile," Ron affirmed.

  "How do you make yourself disappear? I don't see a cape," Tik inquired.

  "Just think 'invisible' when you activate your shield, little one," Gus instructed.

  Tik had to try it right then. She blinked out of sight and then back in again. Suddenly, she had a thought. She asked Auntie, "Will your shield do the same thing?"