Talosian Chronicles 2: Star Dancer

by Ben Winston

  “What’s going on Sir? Are the Caldarians here already?” a woman asked as she stripped out of her panties and night shirt.

  “No, as far as I know the Caldarian ship hasn’t arrived yet, but we do have more idiots coming to test the shields. We get to go out and watch,” Ty replied.

  When she groaned, Ty grinned at her, ignoring her nude body. “What’s the matter, Ellis? Our guests not important enough for you?”

  “No Sir, I was just all hyped up about the ship arriving, so that’s what I was expecting. Haven’t these dumb fuckers figured out that they can’t get in yet?” Ellis replied as she stepped into her suit liner.

  “Maybe they heard you needed a date for the next barbeque, Ellis, and their coming to offer their services,” someone said.

  “I don’t need a date, Hopkins, I’m taking your mother, remember?” Ellis countered, and a few of the others moaned at the insult.

  “I’ll tell her you said that, Ellis, I’m sure she’ll be looking forward to it!” the smart-ass Hopkins replied.

  “Okay, can it folks!” Ty said. “Sammi is in the Com center tonight, and she woke me up with a report of a battalion sized unit approaching the north fence. We have no idea what their intentions are, so we are going to go out there and greet them. Standard rules of engagement apply. So get your asses wired, and get to the departure area. I’m going up to the command center, and see if there’s anything new before we head out.”

  “Land rails or four-wheelers, Sir?” one of Ty’s squad leaders asked.

  “Both of them Smith, standard deployment of one rail, and two quads. Two rails and four quads per squad. Make sure we have plenty of gear for an extended stay. We might have to get the rest of our sleep with the spiders and snakes, move it!” Ty said and left the room before anyone else could ask a question.

  The Command center was a hardened bunker directly below the main security building on the surface, which was located across the street from the main administration building. During the day, the office up in the building was staffed so anyone that needed security, could come in and file a report. During the evening hours, there was an intercom linked to the command center for emergencies. There were also security poles spread around the community for safety purposes. The alert system was set up so that when someone activated one of the call buttons at one of the poles, there were security people already moving to that location before the watch officer even replied to the call.

  The main security area was actually part of the underground base with the command center. The bunk room and the deployment area where all the security vehicles were stored was down here as well. Mostly because of the non-terran weapons available to the security forces should the need arise, like it soon would.

  Getting to the command center was pretty easy since it was only a short walk down a hall from the locker room to the center. The Command Center was a good size, dark room with two operator stations that looked like small hemi-spheres of monitors and computer equipment. During an alert, there were two operators at those stations, but during a normal watch, one person monitored the stations, while the other rested, ate, or handled other duties, By the time Ty got to the center, the second person had already taken his place at the second station.

  “What’s the story, Sammi?” Ty asked, letting her know he had arrived.

  “Four minutes? You’re getting’ soft boss!” Sammi teased. “The drone has a mixed battalion of motorized infantry and a couple of tanks. I’m pretty sure that these two,” she zoomed in on two armored tracked vehicles. “...are a mortar unit.”

  “So basically, a full army only scaled way down,” Ty replied.

  “Well, you have armor, infantry and artillery, so I would say that’s a pretty good description. I’m not picking up any air support yet, but I do have the scanners looking for it,” Sammi said. “They’re getting closer, although they have slowed down quite a bit. They’re still about a mile from the fence.”

  Ty sighed. “Well, I guess we should go see what these idiots want. I thought they’d leave us alone now that the big boy was due in, but I guess I was wrong. Wake up another team, get them in their armor, but keep them here for the time being. If this goes to shit, we’ll need them.”

  “You got it boss, initiating the alert,” Sammi said.

  “Good work, Keep your eyes and ears open, guys, I’m outta here,” Ty said as he left the Command Center for the Deployment area.

  Just as Ty and his team left the underground base by the hidden tunnel, Sammi called him again. “Boss, I got something really weird going on here, and I think it might mean we have a problem,”

  “Enough cryptic shit, Sammi, you know I hate it,” Ty replied.

  “Okay, how about four SL-131 transports inbound from Twenty-Nine Palms Marine Base? Radio chatter says they are coming here,” Sammi replied.

  “What in the world is the Seventh Marine Regiment interested in us for? Any ID on the unit their sending?” Ty asked.

  “Nope, but I do know they aren’t coming for a training exercise. They dropped to the deck a couple of minutes ago, and they are going to land pretty much just outside the front gate,” Sammi replied.

  “Is the chain-link fence hologram in place?” Ty asked.

  “Yes Sir, but a chain-link fence isn’t going to stop Marines if they are determined to get through it. They’ll hit the shield and wonder how a fence is stopping their tanks and LAVs,” Sammi replied.

  “I hate to say it, but I think we’re going to have to wake-up Luke and Ian. I’ll be back there as soon as I can. Notify the normal security folks about what’s going on so they don’t shit themselves when those planes land. For now we have to assume the Marines are not hostile,” Ty replied.

  “Ty, it’s Alan, You need me somewhere?”

  “Yeah, I forgot you came back tonight. Could you get out to the guard shack and try to find out what the hell the Marines are up to while keeping them from trying to enter the community? This is getting complicated pretty damn fast,” Ty replied.

  “Will do, I think I can keep them confused long enough to give you some time to think,” Alan replied.

  “I appreciate it brother. The timing of this whole mess stinks to high heaven. If we get hit while those Marines are out there, they are going to take a pounding, and there is nothing we can do about it,” Ty said. “I’ll let you know what I get from Ian and Luke.”

  “You got it, I’ll have Sammi make up some official ID for me before I go, If I find out anything, I’ll let you know. Alan out.”

  “Give him whatever he needs, Sammi, let me know when you get Luke and Ian on the line,” Ty said.

  “Ty, this is Ian, Sammi said you had a situation developing. What’s up?”

  “Sorry to wake you up, Sir, but this is threatening to get out of my control really fast.” Ty said and filled him in on the current situation, including the eminent arrival of the US Marines.

  “What a fucking mess. Don’t worry, Ty, I wasn’t actually asleep yet anyway. This is starting to look like they are going to hit you first, but why would they use the terran militaries to do it?” Ian said.

  “No Sir, and if they hit us with advanced weaponry, those Marines are toast. Sir, I’m beginning to wonder if they even know that ship is due to arrive any fuckin’ minute.” Ty answered.

  “I hate to say it, but no matter what happens, we can’t let them into the community. I don’t want to see them hurt any more than I’m sure you do, but we can’t let them in either. I think the best we can do there is try to warn them if it looks like you’re gonna be getting hit,” Ian suggested.

  “They’d never take that threat seriously Sir. But what am I supposed to do about them until then? You know damn good and well, they are going to want into the community. Any suggestions on how to put them off?”

  “Hard to say until we know what they’re looking for. There has been no warning, so I doubt they are there officially. We should have had a whole bunch of other folks out there before they
sent in the Marines. As for the other bunch, I would imagine those are the ones that are going to actually try to get on the property while you are distracted by the Marines. As for the Caldarian arrival, we still show him to be almost four hours out,” Ian said.

  “So we have four hours to get rid of the Marines, and handle whatever it is this asshole at the back fence wants, otherwise, the Caldarian is going to detect the use of the force shield, and blow the hell out of us,” Ty replied. “I hate to say it Sir, but if we lower that shield, we’re going to be overrun by Marines, if we leave it up, the Caldarian ship will target us. Not much of a choice.”

  “No it isn’t. Ground combat is your area, but I wouldn’t let the Marines into the compound, we’d never get them out again, even after the fight. I’d try to find out why they’re there, then find some way to placate them and get them to go away. I wouldn’t worry too much about leaving the shield up, I’d be willing to bet the Caldarians already know about it anyway from the last couple of attacks,” Ian said.

  “I’d be willing to agree with that, Ian. G’Morning by the way,” Luke said letting them know he was a part of the conversation. “I would give even odds the American Government knows about the shield, but that argument could be used to explain the Marines. We won’t know until they arrive and demand entrance. I honestly believe the course of action you are following is the correct one Ty.”

  “Thanks Luke, I appreciate that. I just didn’t want to be the one to put us in a tight position with the US Government. So I followed long standing military doctrine; I called command. I sent Alan Carlson out to the front gate to handle the Marines for us, at least until I get the mess at the back fence handled. He should be able to find out what’s going on.”

  “If I might make a suggestion to you guys, I’d try to put together a few medical teams, or something to help the Marines should the worst happen,” Ian said. “I hate the idea of ‘civilians’ getting hit like this, but Ty’s right, they’re not going to take a warning seriously. I hope Agent Carlson can put them off.”

  “He’s the best person for the job Sir,” Ty replied. “I’m at the back fence, we can’t see the bad guys yet, but we can hear them.”

  “Okay, we’ll let you do your thing, then. If you need anything Ty, just call, and I’ll try to get it down there,” Ian said.

  “I think we’re as good as we can be Sir. All of our fighters are upgraded Wasp variants now, we have all the gun emplacements installed. I’m at double strength for the Marine force down here. If I added anything else, it would be obvious that we’re training fighters and building weapons here. That is something the government cannot allow unless the weapons are for them.”

  “Well, good luck,” Ian said ending the call.

  “Thank you Sir, good luck to you as well.” Ty heard Ian disconnect the line, and then Luke added his wishes for their success before he too ended the call. Ty looked in the direction of the noise, raised his night vision binoculars, and sighed when the vehicles came into sight and turned toward him. He had been hoping they were going somewhere else and were only passing close to the fence. Well, he had hoped.

  Ty and his team watched as the soldiers deployed and spread out along the edge of the shield, but back a few hundred feet. Once again, Ty was the closest to the edge, with the rest of his team deployed behind him in sheltered positions.

  Ty expected the American troops to deploy for an attack, but they didn’t. Instead, the remained in their vehicles, but Ty could still see them. He noticed that while they wore US Marine combat dress, none of them had unit patches, nor did any of them have a branch identifier on their uniforms, which meant that these troops did not belong to the US Military. He thought it was strange that they would use US Marines at the front gate, but use Blackwater security troops at the back.

  As he expected, a lone man walked out from the troops to talk to him. “I have no ID on him, Boss. I even asked Mathias, the moon base AI to take a look. He has no records anywhere.”

  “Thanks Sammi,” Ty replied quietly. When the man got close enough, Ty grinned. “Agent Smith I presume?”

  “Very astute, Mister Anders. No doubt you are also aware of the trouble you are about to have at your front gate?” Agent Smith replied.

  “I highly doubt either you or your masters have total control over a whole Marine battalion, Smith.”

  He smiled evilly. “We don’t need to control the battalion, only their commanders, and those we do control, Mr. Anders. You see, we are not here to attack you this time.”

  Ty looked confused for a moment. “Why on Earth would you attack a Marine battalion?”

  “Come, come, I was lead to believe you are smarter than this, Mister Anders!” Smith replied. “Surely you can figure out this little puzzle! I’ll give you a clue, my troops are carrying pulse rifles.”

  The man laughed in a wicked manner, turned around and started walking away. Ty thought about what he’d said. If the Marines were attacked and destroyed by advanced weapons right outside their front gate, explanations would be demanded, and official investigators would be sent.

  If Ty lowered the shield to get the US Marines into the compound and away from the Blackwater folks, then a US Marine Battalion would be inside their compound, and in the confusion, Smith and his people would walk right into the compound as well.

  “All commands, this is Ty, We need to attack and destroy the force at the back fence before it can circle around and attack the Marines as they land and deploy!” Ty said over the comm. “Sammi, call the alert, we’re going to need all the help we can get here.”

  “Do you want the fighters up as well?” Sammi asked. It was a good question, four fighters could pound the hell out of this little assault group before they had gotten ten feet, however, it would show the Caldarians they had fighters here, and it would also expose the fighters to potential observation by the inbound Marines.

  “Get the pilots in the fighters, but don’t launch them unless I ask for them. If we can handle this without launching them, then their secret can stay a secret a little while longer,” Ty replied. “Thanks for the suggestion though.”

  “Ty, this is Ian, I’ve been monitoring. Try to slow them down, or better yet, keep them from moving for the time being. There are two inbound Shadow fighters from the moon base, but they need at least ten minutes to get there. Oh! And for god’s sakes, don’t lower your shield no matter what!”

  “Understood! All units hold fire!” Ty replied, closed the comm, and yelled after Smith. “Agent Smith, wait a second, please!”

  Smith turned around and considered Ty for a moment, then shrugged, and began to walk back. “What do you want, Mister Anders?”

  “I just wanted to ask you something, since it’s just the two of us out here, and my folks can’t hear me at the moment,” Ty lied.

  “What did you want to ask me?” Smith replied.

  “Are you one of those agents that has the antimatter bomb in his head?” Ty asked.

  The agent looked thoughtful a moment. “If I were, we’d all be dead right now. You have the ability to detect them anyway, so why did you need to ask me?”

  “Scanning for it triggers the bomb, so we don’t scan for it, we have just assumed in the past that you agents do have one of those, and take steps to protect ourselves from the blast. Why would your masters do that anyway? It seems very wasteful to me,” Ty replied.

  “There are certain circumstances where it is necessary to have a powerful weapon in strategic locations in order to ensure the good behaviors of certain governmental leaders. That was the best way to accomplish that task. The humans cannot detect the bombs, so we can place them wherever we wish. Just for your information, it isn’t located in the head, they are placed in the chest cavity near the heart.”

  “Oh, sorry, we always thought it was in the head,” Ty said. “Why would you need them at all? Why not just... uh, recruit the leader in question?”

  “We’ve done that too, but it is difficult to conver
t officials when they are constantly being elected and changed. This was a much simpler, and so far, more effective way of controlling them,” Smith replied. “May I ask you a few questions?”

  “I don’t see why not, you’re answering mine after all,” Ty replied.

  “Careful boss,” he heard Sammi whisper in his ear.

  “How did you get all of this equipment down here from the wreck? For that matter, how did you even know it was there?” Smith asked.

  Ty chuckled, “That’s a tale in itself. You see, one of our people quite literally stumbled across one of the shuttles that had landed here and broke down. With the guidance of the onboard computer, he fixed it, and it returned him to the wreck on the moon. As for getting the equipment down here, well, there were more functional shuttles, and after he got a few friends together, we decided to use what we found to help the rest of the planet.”

  “So the AI did survive then, my masters have been debating that,” Smith said thoughtfully.

  “Uh, no, it didn’t actually. I mean, it was still there, but it was basically insane. We had to step pretty lightly until one of us learned enough to disconnect it. You know, if you guys would have just left us alone, things would have never gotten to this point,” Ty replied.

  “Perhaps, but we did not know how much you had learned from the ship. Besides, we do not want you to help the planet as much as you seem to want to, that was the reason we repressed a lot of the technology you are ‘researching’ to begin with,” Smith answered. In the distance the deployment planes of the Marines could be heard.

  Smith smiled, “Ah ... that is my cue. It has been good talking with you, Mister Anders. I thank you for the information. Perhaps, sometime in the future, your superiors can contact us, and we can arrange a cease fire, but until then, I’m afraid I have my orders.”

  “Yeah, I have mine too. I hope you’ll understand if I don’t wish you good luck,” Ty replied.