by Terence West
Both men turned and looked behind them. The tarmac was empty except for the two silver saucers. Jake looked at Griggs. "Can you fly?"
"A helicopter." He stared at the saucer. "That's probably very different from a helicopter.
* * * *
Captain Dylan stared at the cloud of gas at the end of the hallway. He tapped two of his men on the shoulder and pointed down the hall. "Go see what the hell happened in there." Both men quickly jogged down the hall and stepped in the door. Dylan waited patiently for their return.
One of the men came running back. "Sir, the targets have escaped."
"How?"
"It seems they jumped out the window."
"How many of our men are wounded?"
"One sir. The other three you sent in are dead."
Anger rapidly welled up inside of him, but he tried to remain calm. "Lieutenant, split the remaining men up into two groups. I'll take group one, and you'll command group two. Take your team back the way we came, just in case they decide to double back. I'll take my team downstairs."
The lieutenant nodded and started off toward the men.
"Lieutenant?"
He stopped and turned around. "Yes, Sir?"
"I am authorizing deadly force. Those bastards killed three of my men. I want them dead."
"Yes, Sir." The lieutenant turned around and continued back toward the men.
Dylan took several steps forward and stopped. Reaching up to his throat, he keyed his mic. "Colonel Hunter?"
The speaker in his ear crackled to life. "Yes, Captain. Go ahead."
"We found the subjects."
"Good, do you have them in custody?"
"No Sir. They have eluded us and killed three of my men."
The speaker was quiet for a moment. "I thought I assigned the best Captain Dylan."
"You did, Sir."
"Then I want results!" Hunter yelled through the speaker.
"Yes, Sir. I'm splitting my team up into two groups of three. This way we have more of a chance to find the subjects and apprehend them."
"Good. See to it this time that you don't fail me Captain."
"Yes, Sir." Dylan released the button on his mic shutting it off. He despised being threatened. He hated Hunter even more than that. Turning around he made his way back to his men. They were standing in their respective groups waiting for the order to begin the search. "Team one, you're with me. Team two: you're with Lieutenant Lynn. I want safeties off. You are authorized to use deadly force to bring in the subjects." He stared at the two groups of steely-faced men. Lifting his weapon, he cocked it and hung it at his side. "Lock and Load."
Chapter 17
The ancient ship slowly whirred to life. The humming sound of electricity filled the hallways of the darkened ship. Lights on the roof of the halls and rooms began to flicker on and the mighty engines slowly began to turn.
For eons this ship had been one of the flag ships in it's fleet. It had fought battles, and been there when new civilizations had been discovered. It's computer banks recalled when it had first run across this small backwater planet. It had been part of an armada of ships that had been sent to Earth to study Mankind. They were living in caves and had just discovered fire when the armada had arrived.
It summoned its workers to the bridge. Several lanky beings immediately emerged from a door on the opposite side of the bridge. Their large heads and huge almond shaped black eyes were their most out standing feature. The race of machines that had spawned the ship and its brethren had genetically engineered this race of beings to handle minute repairs during space travel that the ship couldn't. They were also used a great deal in examining creatures that had been brought aboard for study. The beings were also designed to have extremely long lives due to the lengthy travel times associated with space flights. The ship had had the same core crew since it went on line thousands of years ago.
Through a series of beeps, clicks, and squeaks, the computer instructed the workers to remove the bodies of the two soldiers that had been killed in the control room and take them to the storage area. They would be experimented on at a later time. Right now it was concerned with completing its mission.
Two of the workers swiftly moved to the two dead bodies and began to drag them out of the room by the feet. The three remaining workers waited for further instruction. The computer whirred to life again. The three workers scrambled out of the room to complete the computer's final task before its long journey began.
The workers made their way toward the tear in the ship's hull and began the process of repairing it. They summoned great bolts of energy from their bodies and directed it toward the ripped outer skin. Slowly they started to build up a patch on the wall. They moved like birds bobbing their heads back and forth as they worked. It wouldn't be long until the ship was ready for take off.
* * * *
Jake carefully made his way across the runway toward the first saucer. He decided that it was a little less than half the size of the one that had crashed in the desert. It was similarly shaped, but there was a large clear dome on the top. Reaching the ship he turned around and waived at Griggs and the girls. One by one they ran across the tarmac under the pale light of the moon. One by one they arrived at the large silvery saucer.
Jake leaned in close to Griggs. "How do you get into one of these things?"
Griggs shrugged his shoulders. "Beats the hell out of me." He turned around to look at the ship.
"Let's just look around," Alex interjected.
"We don't have time to 'just look around'." Griggs was anxiously watching the hangar door for more troops to arrive. "It won't be long until reinforcements get here."
Jake thought for a moment. "It looks like that's our only choice."
Griggs nodded grudgingly. "Let's all right spread out. This ship isn't that big. It shouldn't take very long for us to find the entrance."
The four spread out around the ship. It was only moments later when Christina whistled. The other three quickly ran around and found her. She was standing in front of a large walkway with a doorway at the top.
She smirked. "Found it."
Jake motioned up the ramp, "after you."
Griggs smiled and stepped on to the ramp raising his weapon as he slowly made his way up. Carefully, he moved inside the doorway and looked around. It was empty. He turned around and motioned for the others to follow.
Christina and Alex walked up the ramp followed by Jake. Jake glanced around the hallway. "This is a lot different that the ship we were just in." The floors and walls had a thin sheet of aluminum on them and florescent lights had been installed on the roof.
Griggs marched ahead of the group keeping his guard up. "The engineers here at the base have made some major modifications to the saucers after they had been recovered. I guess they wanted to give the craft a more 'human' feel."
Christina was shivering. "It gives me the creeps."
Alex was studying the craft in awe. "This is what I have been looking for my whole life. Undeniable proof of the existence of extraterrestrials."
"What are you talking about Alex?" Christina was staring at the shiny silver walls.
She turned to look at young girl standing next to her. "I am a UFOlogist. I have spent a good portion of my life in search of UFOs and the existence of extraterrestrials, and this is it. This is what I've been looking for."
"Why have you been looking for them?"
"It really started out as a hobby after my father left, but after a while it just became my passion. I attended college at UCLA where I received a Ph.D. in ancient history."
"Why did you get a degree in ancient history when you wanted to study UFOs?"
"I was studying them. I realized that if you go back and study some of the ancient texts, including the bible, you'd find that there are literally thousands of references to beings that came down from the sky and influenced our culture. I wanted to find out if these were in anyway relatable to our modern day depiction of extraterre
strials and UFOs. That's why I got a degree in ancient history."
Griggs snapped around. "Be quiet. If there's any one in here, they'll be able to hear you. You're giving away our location."
The two women realized what they had been doing and quickly stopped talking. Griggs turned back around just in time to see a man rushing him. The man threw his weight against Griggs knocking him to the floor. Jake sprinted toward the two men pushing Christina and Alex out of the way. Quickly reaching down, he ripped the man off Griggs and delivered a strong right jab to his jaw. The man crumpled to the floor at Jake's feet.
Griggs lifted a hand to Jake to be helped up. "I could've handled him by myself."
"I know." Jake lifted him off the floor.
"He just got the jump on me."
Jake smiled and patted him on the back. Suddenly Jake watched as Griggs' eyes widened. He reared back to throw a punch. Quickly dropping down, he saw Griggs throw a punch over his head.
Jake stood up. "What the hell are you doing?"
Griggs pointed over Jake's shoulder to a man slowly sliding down the wall. "Looks like were even."
Jake nodded and walked back toward the two women. Checking to see if they were all right, the four continued on their way. Griggs rounded another corner and stopped when he realized he was standing on the bridge. The walls and floors had been done in the same way as the rest of the ship. Thin layers of aluminum had been laid down to cover the interior of the ship. Three main chairs stood in a triangle formation in the center of the room. They each had a bank of controls on the left side of them. Two more chairs sat under a large view screen with a row of computers and controls running along the front of the ship.
Alex and Christina slowly crept into the room and stood with their backs against the back wall. "Jesus," Alex muttered.
Jake stepped into the room and stood next to Griggs. He looked around the bridge in awe. "Well Major, do you think you can fly this?"
Griggs let out an uneasy laugh. "Maybe when hell freezes over. This is so far removed from a helicopter."
"We don't have a lot of options here, Major. We need to get the hell out of here."
"Goddammit! I don't know what I'm doing!"
Machine gun fire erupted throughout the bridge. Everyone immediately hit the ground and covered their heads. "What the hell is going on?" Christina screamed.
Griggs quickly popped his head up. Two armed soldiers were standing in the doorway with weapons drawn. He ducked his head back down as gunfire filled the room again. "Two guards blocking the door."
Jake drew his pistol and fired it at the soldiers unsuccessfully. Griggs carefully leaned around the chair and fired hitting one of the guards in the chest. Jumping up, he and Jake each emptied an entire clip into the remaining soldier.
"It's probably a pretty good bet that they know what we're trying to do."
Alex helped Christina off the floor and stared at the two dead bodies lying in the doorway. "We need to get out of here!"
Griggs agreed. "I'm not going to be able to fly this thing, Silver."
Jake nodded grudgingly. He knew that heading back into the base would be very difficult and all four of them would very likely end up dead. He felt like he was between a rock and a hard place. His mind was rapidly searching for alternatives. They could hide in the large ship, but they would eventually be rooted out and killed. Their options were very, very limited. "We need options. Any suggestions?" The other three members of the group stood silently as they thought. In turn they each looked at Jake and shook their heads.
Jake finally made a snap decision. "Come on. We're getting out of here." Walking out into the hallway, he checked for soldiers. "Coast's clear. Let's go."
The other three quickly followed Jake back through the winding passages that lead to the main entrance. Cautiously, he peered around the edge of the portal and was met by a wave of machine gun rounds slamming against the silvery hull of the ship.
"We're surrounded." He slowly turned around to the others with a strange look on his face. "Do any of you feel that?"
Chapter 18
The workers had finally completed their task. No trace of the gaping tear in the hull was visible, only a smooth surface where it used to be. Standing up, the three stepped back and checked their work for flaws. Turning around they made their way back to the control room. Stepping into the cavernous control room they stopped and stood at attention in the center of the room.
The huge view screen at the center of the room flickered to life. Images of the nearby base were replaced with several images of the recovered saucers inside. The computer clicked and whistled its instructions to the workers. Swiftly turning around the workers strode out of the room toward their next duty.
It thought about its workers. It knew that it couldn't operate at full capacity without them. They had become part of the ship, yet some how still very detached. The machine inhabitants of the ship's home world had engineered the workers to be completely reliant on them. They were devoid of free will and personal thoughts. Each individual worker upon reaching maturity was implanted with a specially designed chip that allowed the computer to link directly to a workers mind. This way the computer was aware of what every worker was doing at all times. In essence becoming a living piece of the ship.
The ship shuddered to life. It was time. The ground began to shake as the ship slowly pulled itself out of the crater it had created upon impact. Lifting slowly into the sky it turned south toward the base.
* * * *
General Davis was sitting alone when a low frequency rumble began to rattle his office. Grabbing the side of his desk he tried to keep it still as the tremors worsened. The desk clattered its way across his office, smashing his fingers between it and the wall. Pulling his hand out quickly he yelled out loud in pain. Quickly standing up he cupped his hands over his ears to try and block the pounding noise in his head. The boxes that were stacked in the corner crumbled to the floor spraying their precious cargo in all directions. Running toward his door, he watched as the translucent pane of glass shattered in front of him. A shard of glass rocketed away from the door slicing across his right cheek. Blood spilled from the open wound onto the collar of his white shirt.
Grabbing for the door handle, he flung open the door and stepped into the hallway. The florescent lights above him shattered one by one in a blaze of sparks leaving him in the empty darkness of the hall. Red emergency lights quickly lit up only to be shattered by the low rumble.
Feeling along the wall, he found his way to the door and tried to open it. "Damn, still locked," he moaned to himself. Rearing back he sent his balled fist into the control panel smashing it. He pulled away his bleeding knuckles and smelled the smoke emanating from the panel. He hoped that knocking out the control panel would kill the power to the door. Pushing on the sliding door, he felt it budge. A large smile crossed his face as he pushed open the door. Stepping into the next dark hallway, he felt his way along the wall until he reached the door that lead into the main hangar. This was easy for him. He knew this base like the back of his hand. He could walk it blindfolded and never run into a wall.
The rumble was steadily getting louder. He felt it pounding in his head. Pushing on the door, he slowly slid it open and stepped into the devastated hangar. "What the hell happened here?" He stared at the charred corpses of soldiers and the piles of smoking rubble that used to be jets. Flames still burned out of control on all sides of the cavernous room.
Running toward the tarmac he caught sight of several armed soldiers firing on one of the saucers. One of the soldiers was lying on the ground dead, and several others were running away from the tarmac trying to get away from the rumble.
Drawing his weapon he carefully walked around until he could see into the small hatch of the ship. A man quickly ducked his head out and fired several rounds wildly at the soldiers. The General's eyes went wide. "Silver!"
* * * *
Colonel Hunter's monitors exploded sending shards of gl
ass shooting in all directions. Covering his face with his arms he fell out of the chair hitting the floor. Looking around he watched the other screens in the room crack and explode. His men fell to the floor engulfed in flames from their short circuiting terminals. Screams of horror and pain flooded the room as a low rumbling reverberated off the steel walls while smoke poured out of the damaged screens and terminals. Hunter stood up and ran for the door. Grabbing two of his men off the floor he instructed them to force the door open.
One of his men stopped pushing and looked back at him with char marks on his face. "Sir, it won't budge!" Hunter could hear the fear in his voice.
"To hell it won't. Stand back," he shouted over the roar of the flames. Drawing his pistol he squeezed off several rounds into the control box. "Now try!"
The two men leaned into the door and pushed it open. Throwing the two men out of the way, Hunter quickly made his way down the hallway and to the next door. Repeating the process, he shot the control box and forced the door open. Stepping into the hangar bay he was tripped by several soldiers running toward him blindly with their hands over their ears.
The rumble was to affect him too. His vision began to blur while he was trying to maintain his footing. The sides of his head began to pound as the rumble worsened. Suddenly blood spurted from his ear as his eardrums explode. Grabbing his ears, he completely lost his balance and tumbled to the floor. Struggling to lift himself up, he crumpled back down to the floor.
Using all his patience, he quickly hit his mic and yelled into it. "General Perry! We've got a problem!" A wave of nausea past over him as his vision grew dark. He fell a final time to the floor.
* * * *
General Perry had problems of his own. Only moments before, he was watching the action on the tarmac below. Captain Dylan's soldiers had the fugitives cornered inside one of the saucers. The room was abruptly filled with a low-pitched rumble that began to rattle his desk and knock over his plants. Taking several steps back away from the window he turned to run out his door when he heard a cracking noise. Cautiously turning around, he saw a huge crack in the window behind him. Fear gripped his mind as it began to web out in all directions.