by Ben Winston
Smith nodded, thoughtfully. “I can understand that. Good morning, Mister Anders.”
“Good Morning, Agent Smith. All units, open fire!” Ty called and dropped to the ground.
A fraction of a second after Ty hit the ground, a rail gun round passed over him, and shattered Agent Smith’s head.
Ty began to crawl back to his land rail, as all hell broke loose around him. Laser pulses and rail slugs flew over his head, as the troops on the other side reacted in the way Ty had hoped they would; they immediately took cover and returned fire, further delaying the mercenary troops.
Several of the mercenaries tried to shoot Ty, but the shield did its job nicely, allowing him to make it all the way back to his land rail, and for them to retreat to a safer distance. Agent Smith hadn’t been lying about the weapons his troops had been carrying, in fact, if they had brought a little heavier artillery, they might have stood a chance to actually penetrate the shield.
Whenever several enemy pulse rifles would merge to try to breach a small hole in the shield, Ty’s Marines would target those firing the pulse rifles.
“Talos Ground force commander, this is Casper flight. We are on station and beginning our run. Be sure to keep your shields up, this ain’t gonna be pretty.” A voice Ty didn’t recognize said over his comm.
“Just be sure you got the right batch of soldiers, Casper flight!” Ty teased. “All units, cease fire, and take cover! Air strike is inbound!”
Amid the sounds of the mercenaries still firing, Ty could hear the sound of building thunder. “Firing! Keep your heads down, Talos.”
Ty then heard a loud tearing noise that drowned out all the sounds of weapons fire, it was continuous and lasted about thirty seconds.
“Talos Command, run complete. I have a clear scanner, can you verify?” the Casper pilot asked.
Sammi replied before Ty could. “Casper flight, targets at one-four-three by six-two are also hostile. Otherwise ground sensors agree that you have a clean slate.”
“Understood, we’ll take care of that, and get out of here before someone sees us,” the pilot replied.
“Sees what? We heard you, Casper, but I still have no idea where you are. We never saw your ships,” Ty replied.
“You can’t see me, Ty?” a voice he did recognize asked.
“Kyle? What the hell are you doing down here?”
“Testing my baby, but seriously, you are looking right at me. I’m just outside the shield,” Kyle replied.
“No, all I see is blue sky and a hell of a lot of dust,” Ty replied.
All of a sudden, Ty saw a bright light appear in mid-air. As it moved, Ty could just barely make out the outline of a ship of some kind in front of it.
“I could barely make it out when you had the light behind the ship, but with no light, you’re invisible, Kyle,” Ty reported.
“Wow, that’s good to know. Thanks Ty,” Kyle replied.
“Okay, two more targets eliminated. We’re RTB, you finished Casper Three?” the first pilot asked. (RTB means Returning To Base)
Kyle replied. “Yep, I got more than I had hoped for, let’s go, Casper One. Adios Ty!”
“Thanks for the assist, Casper flight,” Ty replied.
“All part of the service, Talos Command,” the flight leader replied, and signed off.
“Jeessus Keyrist! Boss, you gotta see this!” Olson, one of his quad riders called from the shield edge.
Ty pointed to Olson so his driver would head over there. “Whatcha got Olson?” Ty asked as he got out of the land rail.
“Look at this Sir, there’s nothing... not even tumble weed for three hundred meters.” He pointed directly out from the shield. He then pointed to each side. “Almost a klick that way, and a half a klick that way it’s the same thing. No rocks, no grass, nothing. It’s like the ground was completely pulverized. There’s no visible sign that those folks were ever here.” He was completely at awe.
“Take recordings of the whole area, send a drone out and take some samples, try to get samples from were one of the vehicles was, as well as empty ground. Send all of it up to the moon base to the attention of the Shadow Fighter Project.” Ty shuddered. “I think they’ll be interested in what that weapon does to ground based targets. I’ll take your quad back, you can have my rail so you can get those samples. The rest of us will head back in and see what the Marines are up too.
Olson nodded. “Will do Sir.”
Ty put his hand on the man’s shoulder. “Keep an open com. If that big fuckin’ ship shows up, they could attack us at any time. I don’t want you guys out here alone if that happens. When you hear us announce the arrival of the ship, get your asses back to base ASAMFP(As Soon As Mother-Fucking Possible). After that, Sammi will be arming the minefields.”
“Don’t worry Sir, we’ll only be a few minutes,” Tegan, his driver, said, looking up from where she was programming the small, multi-purpose drone the land rail carried.
“Thanks guys, see ya back at the base.” Ty started the modified quad and rode back toward the place where the rest of the team was forming up. As he rejoined them, they all turned and headed back, leaving Olson, Tegan on the land rail’s gunner, Ellis to get the samples.
Just as Ty and his team entered the hidden tunnel, with the hot morning sun already blazing on their backs, Star Dancer operations issued a yellow alert. The enemy ship was arriving slightly ahead of schedule.
“Fuckin’ lovely! I wanted to get a nap!” someone mumbled over the comm.
Ty recognized the voice, however. “You can sleep when you’re dead, Simms. Alpha team, first platoon, switch to Terran weapons and armor, and report to topside security. The rest of you, rearm for unrestricted combat. Double and triple check your equipment. Make sure your suits and weapons are fully charged, and restock your ammo. We are in a hot stand-by.”
Ty and the platoon he called for returned to the locker room to strip out of their advanced armor and put on armor that was Terran in design and origin. They picked up Terran weapons and headed for the top-side office.
Chapter 14
Talos, New Mexico
Alan, dressed in a black jumpsuit with a DARPA insignia on it, stood in the guard house with the guard and watched the big VTOL assault planes land almost a kilometer away. He watched approvingly as the Marines deployed quickly and efficiently.
Most of the soldiers established a defensive perimeter as the rest of them began setting up big tents that they had brought with them. Four desert camo hummers rolled out of one of the planes and headed straight for the gate house where Alan and the guard waited.
“There will be a Colonel, a couple of other officers, and the rest will be combat troops,” Alan said to the guard. “Lock the gate closed. No matter what, we can’t let them through.”
The guard nodded and touched the control that locked the gate. “Got it.”
“Okay, remember to be a little leery of me, I’m a scary DARPA agent, right?” Alan said grinning at the guard who nervously smiled back.
“Uh... ye.. yes Sir,” he stuttered in mock fear.
Alan nodded approvingly.
The vehicles pulled up to the gate and parked in a diamond formation, so the gunners on the vehicles would have a clear field of fire. The doors on the lead vehicle opened and sure enough a man with dull black eagles on his collar climbed out of the passenger side front, his name tag said ‘Petrie’. Another man wearing captain’s bars got out of the door behind him. They were joined by a lieutenant from one of the other vehicles.
Alan, followed by the guard, went outside to greet them. “Good Morning Colonel, what can I do for you?” Alan said in the pompous way of a DARPA Agent.
“DARPA? What the fuck are you doing out here?” the Colonel asked, without introducing himself.
“I could easily ask the same of you, Colonel. The answer to that is classified, and until I know who the hell you are and what the fuck you are doing here, I cannot answer you,” Alan replied. The guard behind him c
ringed.
“Fucking lovely! Lieutenant! Get command on the horn, and find out what the fuck a DARPA agent is doing here, and just what the fuck I’m supposed to do about it? The Colonel ordered, never taking his eyes off of Alan. “Colonel Jackson Petrie, United States Marines.”
“Agent Harrison Smith, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Once again, just what the hell are you doing out here, Colonel?” Alan asked.
“My orders are classified as well, Agent Smith. However, I can tell you we have been sent out here at the request of the Office of Homeland Screw-Ups! I’m getting the feelin’ that those paranoid assholes sent us out here to shut down one of our own projects!” the gruff Colonel replied.
Alan reached over and unzipped a pocket on his sleeve, and pulled out two silver cigar cases. One of them he handed to the Colonel.
“Thank you, Agent Smith! Ever since they made smoking illegal, I’ve had to sneak these,” Alan shrugged. “It’s a misdemeanor here, and I don’t see any police anyway.” Alan handed over a lighter for the Colonel to use.
“Sir, I have Command on the line, they want to talk to you,” the lieutenant said from his vehicle.
“Excuse me a moment, Agent Smith,” the Colonel asked politely and walked over to the vehicle.
While the Colonel was talking to his superiors, Ty called Alan.
“Alan, it’s Ty. Have you found out anything yet?”
Alan put his hand to his ear to let the Marines around him know he was talking to someone. “This is Smith, what can I do for you Commander?”
“Ah, you can’t talk. I have a platoon ready to back you up if you need it. I’ll wait for you to call me once you figure out what’s going on, okay?”
“That’s fine Commander, I’m sure they’ll appreciate the offer of the tanker full of water, but they look pretty well equipped. I’ll ask the Colonel if they need anything, and get back to you,” Alan replied.
“Gotcha, one tanker full of water complete with a monitoring device coming up. I’ll have it down there shortly, and I’ll wait for your next call. Thanks a lot Alan, and good work!”
“Smith out,” Alan replied tersely. He heard Ty chuckle before the comm went dead. Alan turned back to the Captain that was still standing there. “Captain, that was the head of security here, he asked if you guys needed anything, and offered a tanker of water because of the heat.”
“We’re good for now, but knowing there is water available will certainly help with logistics, thank you, Agent Smith,” the Captain replied.
Alan just shrugged. “From what he said, he was already getting it ready to bring out to you. We don’t get guests all that often, so I think they are trying to make the best of it, even if you are out here to arrest all of them and toss them all into GitMo.”
About then, the Colonel returned, and he was not happy. “Bureaucratic cluster-fuck, Agent Smith. We are to back off, and let you folks be, but we are to remain here until someone can figure out just what to do. They know as well as I do that your real name isn’t Smith, and they also know what that means. It means that DARPA will ignore any inquiries we make.”
“Sir, the security chief here is preparing a water buffalo for us, in the event we’d need it,” the Captain informed his superior.
“That’ll be welcome. Damn heat is dangerous enough out here. Knowing there is a handy water source will be a big help,” the Colonel replied. “I am sorry for all of this, Agent Smith, but we all have our orders. The best we can do is follow them, and hope they don’t clash too often.”
“Can you tell me what you’re orders are, I might be able to help set your mind at ease as long as it doesn’t violate our security here,” Alan replied.
“Not precisely, no, but it involves domestic terrorist training camps and explosives production,” Petrie replied.
“Ahh, I can see how they might think that if they used a satellite. The security chief here is ex-military, and he takes his duties very seriously. He drills his security forces the same way you would a military unit. He feels it keeps them on their toes, and in shape. As for the explosives production, I can’t really comment on that, but I can assure you that nothing here is being done that would be, or could be, considered a threat to the United States,” Alan replied.
“That does help, Agent Smith. I appreciate it, and I’m sure my staff will as well,” Petrie answered. So, thanks again for the Cigar, and we’ll head back to camp. Just send the water on out, and we’ll find a place to put it.”
Alan nodded. “Can I have a moment in private, Colonel?”
“Certainly Agent Smith.” He turned to the Captain, “leave Grant here, but the other three can head back. I’ll be along in a minute.”
“Yes Sir,” the Captain replied and left to relay the orders.
“Trooper, we are going to use your shack for a moment. Please stay out here,” Alan said to the guard.
The guard nodded nervously and stammered out a ‘yessir’ that was barely audible.
When they got inside and closed the door, Petrie chuckled. “That guard is terrified of you.”
“He thinks I’m a shark and doesn’t like it when I swim in his pond,” Alan replied, with a shrug. “It’s a common reaction.”
Petrie nodded. “I can imagine. What did you need to talk to me about?”
Alan seemed to be thoughtful for a moment. “What I’m about to tell you cannot leave this room. I’m taking a hell of a risk disclosing this to you, but I don’t want to see your troops hurt.”
“Okay, now you have my undivided attention,” Petrie replied looking at Alan directly.
“You know that DARPA is involved in some strange projects. Stuff no one would believe if they actually knew about it, right?” Alan asked. When the larger man nodded he continued.
“Okay, I need to know how quickly you can get your men out of here, if it was needed,” Alan asked.
“Ten minutes if we leave our gear, forty-five if we take it. What’s going on here?” Petrie asked carefully.
“Some of the stuff we are working on here was taken from some rather exotic circumstances, which is the main reason we’re out here in the middle of nowhere. From time to time, the people that left the material we are working with try to come and take it back,” Alan replied.
“Agent Smith, are we talking about Martians?” Petrie asked.
“Colonel, these people are from a lot further away than Mars. Our normal weapons, the weapons you and your men are equipped with, are virtually useless against them. If they attack, you and your men could be killed without being able to defend yourselves. I cannot risk exposing your men to what’s in the compound, so I can’t bring you in under our defenses. That leaves getting the hell out of here as fast as you can.”
“Agent Smith, I don’t believe in little green men,” the Colonel said condescendingly.
“I can understand that, Colonel, and I can even envy you, but that will not alter the outcome if those fuckers attack while you’re still out here on the ground undefended,” Alan said.
“You honestly expect me to believe this?” Colonel Petrie asked.
“No Colonel, I expect you to think I’m completely off my nut, ignore my warning, and die with your men when those assholes attack us, but I had to try to warn you. Semper Fidelis, Colonel.
”Oouwah!” Petrie replied. “Look, I’ll think about it, but you have to admit that this is pretty damn hard to swallow.”
“I know, Colonel. But if you’ve seen half the things I have, you wouldn’t even blink at this,” Alan said.
“Son, I’m starting to think I can understand why that guard is afraid of you,” Petrie replied as he headed for the door.
“Remember Colonel Petrie, you can’t tell anyone of this. This information is classified eyes only. I felt you had a right to know,” Alan replied.
“I appreciate it, Smith. I’ll let you know if I hear anything more from Command,”
Alan nodded. “Thank you, Colonel. Anytime you want to speak to me, yo
u can simply tell the guard, and he can call me.”
When the two men left the building, Ty and a couple of others were standing there beside one of the heavy duty quads used by the grounds maintenance folks, with a large plastic trailer full of water behind it. Hooked to the back of that trailer was another trailer with what looked like an ice machine that had a generator mounted on it. There was a hose running from the water tank to the ice machine, and the generator was running.
“Now that’s a handy looking device for the desert!” the Colonel said when he saw the set up.
Ty nodded and offered the man his hand. “Alex Carlton, Colonel. I’m the head of security here. I’ll make sure they keep the tank full for you and the boys.”
While the Colonel wasn’t looking, Alan gave Ty a glare for using that name, so close to his own.
“I can tell you right now that we sure appreciate it. Commander. Thank you for thinking of us,” Colonel Petrie said.
“I’ll try to get you all some porta potties out there too, so don’t be surprised if you see another quad bringing them out!” Ty said hamming up the hick routine for the Colonel. “I guessed about the number, and asked for all twenty of them. I’m waiting for approval on that.”
“Wow, you keep this up, Commander, and I’m going to have trouble getting these knuckle draggers back to the base!” Colonel Petrie said. “Just have your man follow us out, and I’ll find a place to park it. Thanks again, Commander.”
“Our pleasure Sir,” Ty replied, and nodded at the trooper driving the quad.
As Alan and Ty watched the Colonel drive away, Alan looked at Ty. “Alex Carlton?”
“I just had to fuck with ya. Now, what did he say?” Ty asked.
“OHS sent them out here to bust up a terrorist training and explosives manufacturing facility. I got OHS in hot water with the Marines by posing as a deep cover DARPA agent that was in charge of this facility. I also warned him about the alien attack, but we’ll have to see how that plays out,” Alan reported.
“Sammi, set the shield to minimum power, but don’t shut it down. Maybe that’ll help keep it from being detected,” Ty told the Command Center, then looked at Alan. “You are really smooth, Alan, I’ll give you that. Smooth as silk.”