Fitz was grinning too. He returned the salute. “You’re alive; we had all but given up hope,” he exclaimed as he wrung Smith’s hand.
“And the Legion, is it still intact?” Fitz asked.
“Intact and fit to fight,” Smith responded, then turned to Cee.
“Cee, old buddy, you came looking for me.”
“Yes, it was my duty. Commander Fitzpatrick went through great pains to communicate your situation to me. I have been kept away from humans while our leadership discusses my situation.”
“They don’t know what to make of you, do they?”
“I am not understanding. I am already made.”
“Sorry, it’s another idiom. It means they don’t know how to handle your independent action, so they hide you until they do.”
“Yes, that is it. Come let us sit. There is much to discuss. First, we shall take tea.”
“Oh yes, tea. I had almost forgotten,” said Denver. He and Argie exchanged grins.
As they made their way into the ship, Smith spoke to Fitz. “How is the world did you manage to get tied up with Cee?”
“It’s a long story. Here, sit, and I’ll bring you up to speed.”
Chapter 28 – Trapped
“Is there a problem?” Lieutenant Benson asked.
Sergeant Antony Smith was breathless. “No sir, not a problem.
“Then what?”
“Captain Smith wants another crew of men to pile up rocks around that overhang just outside the cavern opening.”
“He does, did he say why?”
“Yes sir, he needs a wall built to hide a Grey’s spaceship.”
“A what?” exclaimed Benson as he rose to his feet.
“Apparently, the boss has a Grey scout ship coming in and is looking for a place to hide it. He wanted to use the cavern, but we already blocked most of the entrance. So, I showed him the overhang, and he said it’d do. He just wants to build up a rock wall to help hide it,” he said in one breath.
“Well, I’ll be hanged. Let’s get the men together.”
In a few minutes, he and Sergeant Smith had assembled all the company not already assigned. “I know you men are exhausted after the fighting and then being force-marched over here to our new digs at the Lizard Hilton®.”
Some of the men chuckled, and then he continued. “I’ve just been informed of two things. First, Sergeant Smith has it from the old man himself; the Lizards really did nuke our old position.”
Some of the men guffawed loudly. After the commotion settled down, he continued, “All right settle down; I’m not finished yet.”
One legionnaire called out, “The old man saved our asses again, didn’t he sir?”
“You’re mighty right he did. Now for the second thing, Sergeant Smith has found a place for Captain Smith to hide a Grey scout ship. I know you’re tired, but I need volunteers to build a rock wall to hide the spaceship.”
Hands went up, and men got up and came toward the Lieutenant, all calling out that he would go.
“All right, all right, you don’t have to stampede me. Get your breathing gear and meet me in the main cavern in fifteen minutes.” There was a mad rush as the men went for their equipment.
Lieutenant Benson looked over at the sergeant, “I’ll lead this one myself.”
“Yes sir, I thought you might.”
* * * *
“Okay,” began Fitz, “that should bring you up to speed, at least as far as what the situation was when we left.” He had informed Denver and Argie of what had transpired back in the solar system. No one seemed to be in any hurry to get to the bottom of the assassination now that the Legion was out of the way.
Smith brought both Fitz and Cee up to date on their efforts to grow their own food. “I’m amazed at your ingenuity, but not really surprised. From the time I found out who you were after your prison break and how you managed to evade the constabulary, I’ve been impressed with your will to survive and your ingenuity,” offered Fitz.
“Thank you sir; all that seems like a dream now.”
“Would you go back if you could?”
“No sir, not after all I’ve seen out here. This is the land of a larger reality, not just one little planet.”
Fitz turned to Argie and asked, “What about you?”
She visibly leaned toward Smith, and answered, “No way no how. I’ve got nothing back there; everything worth having is out here.”
Smith added, “I’m a little concerned with Mei Ling and Juliette involved in this clandestine snooping around business.”
Fitz answered, “They’re big strong girls; they can take care of themselves.”
“Yes I know, but whoever is behind this wields tremendous power, and we still don’t know who it is,” responded Smith.
“Actually, Cee has some ideas on that,” said Fitz.
They turned to Cee who had been listening as he prepared the tea. “Yes, it would seem to us that whoever was to profit most from the murder of your Prime Minister is the primary suspect.”
“Yes, but that would lay the blame at the top levels of Separatist government,” said Smith.
“We were thinking the Schiller-von Karlstad people had the most to gain,” said Fitz.
“Yes …” began Smith, but he was cut off by a new voice in his head.
“Forgive the interruption, honorable one, but there are humans outside the spacecraft.”
Both Fitz and Smith heard this. “Perhaps we should step outside,” said Fitz.
“Yes,” said Smith rising. Watching his head, he moved toward the airlock.
Once outside Smith saw that Lieutenant Benson was supervising the crew. “Lieutenant?” began Smith. “I see you got after it.”
“Yes sir, Sergeant Smith said you were here with the Greys and the men jumped at the chance to help,” said Benson.
One of the men came up to the Lieutenant and said something to him. “I’ll see,” Benson responded.
At that moment, he noticed Commander Fitzpatrick and their eyes locked. “I didn’t know that …” His voice trailed off.
Fitz finished for him, “… that anyone from the navy would be trying to find you. Lieutenant, not everyone in the navy is against you. My commander at Intel spared no effort in finding the Legion, but we have had to do it surreptitiously.”
“I assume that anyone who would help us could find himself in hot water if he was discovered.”
“Yes, you’re correct,” answered Fitz.
“Sir, don’t expect a warm welcome around here. Everybody is pretty upset with the navy right now,” added Benson.
“I would imagine so,” said Fitz.
“There is one other thing,” began Benson.
“What’s that?” answered Smith.
“Some of the men would like to see a Grey. None of them have ever seen an alien. Well, other than Lizards,” he added with a laugh. “We’ve seen plenty of them.”
“Yeah,” Smith chuckled, “we’ve seen more than our share of them. Let me see what I can do.”
He looked over at Fitz. “I know it’s not regulation.”
“I think we’re all way outside the rulebook,” Fitz said. “All you can do is ask.”
Smith stepped back inside the airlock as if he had to speak to Cee directly. “Cee, have you been getting this?”
“Oh yes, I too would like to meet the legionnaires who risked their lives for the Separatist and The People only to be betrayed. We will only be a moment.”
Smith walked back outside and said, “He’s willing to come outside. It shouldn’t take long.”
“Thank you,” said Benson, “it will mean a lot to the men. I have to admit, I would like to see one as well.”
“Commander, what can you tell me about the combat readiness of the enemy?” asked Smith.
&nb
sp; “All we saw was the one huge ship climbing out of the atmosphere.”
“Are there no other ships in orbit?” asked Benson.
“We didn’t see any, and the ship we saw, jumped. Otherwise, we might not have risked a landing.”
Smith persisted, “No sign of anything on the ground?”
“We came in steep and fast. We were more interested in not being seen than seeing anything, but no, we didn’t.”
“So, it is possible that the enemy think they got us and have just left with everything they had.” Then Smith added to no one in particular, “I wonder what they did with all their dead.”
After a moment, Fitz asked, “You said there had been a battle.”
“Slaughter was more like it. Bodies piled so high that they had no trouble climbing over our defenses. We booby-trapped the caverns. After they packed themselves in so thick there was standing room only, we blew the place apart, sealing the entrance. Next day, we went out and collected as much ammo and as many weapons as we could.
“They had many wounded; don’t know if they picked them up before setting off the nuke. I don’t think they had time to get that many bodies collected before they set the surface burst off.”
“It was not a surface burst,” interjected Cee. Everyone turned to see him descending the ramp wearing some sort of breathing device. Betrothed was at his side. Much to Smith’s surprise, Cee brought her, or could not stop her. He did not know which. He was even more surprised when the flight crew descended the ramp behind them.
“I thought both Greys and Separatists kept contact between humans and Greys down to a few specialists,” said Smith.
“This is so, but we have broken so many rules,” said Cee.
“What’s a few more?” Smith added.
“Yes, besides I am starting to wonder what the real purpose was of keeping our peoples apart. I believe nothing I have been told any longer,” continued Cee.
“You are starting to sound like a revolutionary. That will be something your command structure will not know what to do with either,” said Fitz.
Benson’s mouth hung open. Many of the men saw the Greys and stopped working. They cautiously approached the aliens.
“Are you saying it was an airburst?” Argie asked.
“No,” answered Cee. “From the signature, it must have burrowed into the mountain before igniting.”
Smith grinned, “They think we’re all dead!”
“They must believe they have won a great victory,” said Cee.
“One can only hope,” replied Smith.
Then he turned to the men and said, “Fellow legionnaires permit me to introduce the most honorable Cee, the Grey who accompanied us on the mission to rescue his comrades and then led the expedition to rescue the stranded legionnaires after our first battle.”
The men stood and stared in silence. Then one began to clap his hands, and the whole company began to applaud.
Cee stepped forward and took Lieutenant Benson by the hand. Benson visibly trembled. Cee and the others waded into the assembly of men who had come from the Earth to save them.
Smith and Fitz both felt the surge of warmth and respect from Cee as he touched one man after another on the hands or the forehead. Each shook at the touch. The others did the same, though Betrothed and the pilots were somewhat more reticent at first.
Betrothed brought up her notepad and typed on it. Then, she handed it to a legionnaire. The soldier’s eyes widened.
He turned to his comrades. “Hey, they know English, look!”
Others crowded around the tablet to read. Not everyone could get close enough; someone in the back called out. “What does it say?”
“It says: Thank you for coming to our aid. What is your name?”
The legionnaire came to attention and saluted formally. “I am Private First Class Johnathon Henderson, sir. What is your name?”
Betrothed returned the salute in an odd, quirky fashion. She took the tablet. She seemed to consider for a moment then wrote: I have a new name now. I am Betrothed of Cee.
The men looked confused. One asked, “Betrothed?”
Fitz spoke up, “They are engaged to be married. This one is a girl.”
“Oh, sorry ma’am.”
“It takes a while, but don’t worry, soon you’ll be able to tell the difference,” said Fitz.
The Greys continued to meet and touch the legionnaires. Smith looked over at Fitz. “Now don’t that beat all?”
“In a century, I never would have imagined such a meeting,” answered Fitz. “You know what you have done here is incredible, far beyond what anyone could reasonably expect.”
“Thank you, but we just survive to fight another day.”
“Yes, but now that everyone seems to think the Legion is dead, maybe someone will let down his guard and make a slip,” offered Fitz.
“Yes, I see your point.” Then Smith added, “When you get back, it might be used to your advantage to find the real assassin and the persons behind him.”
“Yes,” answered Fitz. “I hadn’t really thought out going back. Obviously we cannot transport the entire Legion back, and even if we could, where would we transport you?”
“All good questions, questions without answers. Right now, if you could manage to keep us supplied, it would be a major accomplishment.”
“You saw what we brought. It was all we could scrape together so far. You’re right though, but how long could we do that without someone finding out and putting a stop to the whole enterprise?”
“Don’t know,” replied Smith. “The only people we have to turn to are the humans on Earth and the Greys.”
Smith was thoughtful. “I wonder if some sort of arraignment could be made with the Grey command,” he said in an almost wistful manner.
Everything was going along all right until a messenger ran up to Smith. “Sir, there’s trouble.”
“Trouble?”
“Yes sir. Ships are dropping into real space. It appears to be a fleet.”
Smith and Fitz exchanged glances. “I haven’t arranged anything,” said Fitz.
“No rescue party?”
“Afraid not,” replied Fitz.
“The navy come to finish the job?”
“Doubt it. Someone might ask too many questions. That leaves only the Reptilians,” said Fitz.
Smith turned back to the messenger. “What do you have on the incoming?”
“Not much sir, but I doubt if they’re friendly.”
“We need to get this rock wall up. Lieutenant, over here please.”
The young officer hurried over to see what Smith wanted.
Then he said to Cee, “I need your pilots to power down everything they can, but be ready to try an escape at a moment’s notice.”
“Yes,” answered Cee as he and the other Greys returned to their ship. As they did, the men began working at a feverish pace.
He turned to the messenger. “I don’t know how much time we have, but your commander needs to work out a system where we can get back into the cavern when there is no spacecraft overhead, got it.”
“Yes sir, I understand,” and he was gone in an instant.
Everyone, including Smith and Fitz, lent a hand at moving rocks. Soon the Grey’s scout ship was hidden to where only a deliberate search or dumb luck would lead the Reptilians to where the Legion was holed up.
After a few minutes, the messenger returned. “Sir, you will be safe for the next twenty minutes.”
“Okay, Lieutenant, get your men inside.”
Then he added to Fitz, “Unless you wish to take command.”
“I don’t think so, for a hundred reasons. You just keep doing what you’ve been doing.”
Smith and Fitz followed Lieutenant Benson’s men as they rushed back to the relative safety of the c
avern.
Argie was just returning with her team to get more of the supplies, Fitz had brought.
“Not safe to go outside?” she asked.
“There will be someone overhead in a few minutes. I don’t know how good their equipment is, but let’s not take any chances.”
“We’ve already got most of the medical supplies. Just let me know when it’s safe to go back outside,” she said impishly.
“Will do. Why don’t you come with us,” Smith said.
“Where are we going?” asked Fitz.
“To the radar room.”
“Radar?”
“Well, I know it isn’t really, but we all know what we mean when we use the term ‘radar’. It’s just the listening post with all your fancy Separatists observation equipment in it.”
“Okay, let’s go see what you’ve set up.” With that, the three of them hurried off.
* * * *
“What do you have?” Smith asked the officer in charge of the sensor room. The man only stared at Fitz. “Lieutenant, you with me?”
“Yes sir, of course. The officer turned back to his work. Three ships have jumped into the system. They have taken up an orbit in what looks to be a loose formation.”
“A full invasion fleet should have five battleships in it,” offered Fitz.
“Maybe a couple of them didn’t make it,” Argie said.
“One can only hope,” added Smith. “Where are they now, they should be coming over the horizon in about five minutes.”
Smith spoke to Cee. “Cee, are you getting this?”
“Yes, friend Denver, all of it.”
“Is there anything you can tell me?”
“They appear to be very apprehensive about something. It is difficult to say, but I suspect they were expecting more ships.”
“That’s the consensus here as well. Stay hidden as well as you can and keep monitoring the Reptilians.”
“Yes, I will do the best I can. Good luck.”
“Thanks Cee.”
“Sir!” called the sensor operator. “There appear to be a large number of targets, and they are entering the atmosphere.”
“Landing craft,” Smith said glancing up at Fitz. “Now what are they planning?”
Hell Fighters From Earth Book 2 Page 25