The Between (Earth Exiles Book 3)

by Mark Harritt

  “Caul, Geonti!” Mike pointed at the rifle and two bags on the ground, then pointed toward the aircraft. Mike grabbed one of the bags and Geonti ran over to grab the other, then they started for the aircraft. Caul grabbed the two rifles, and Matki’s pistol. He quickly passed Mike and Geonti. In short order, he passed Mickey. Geonti pulled ahead of Mike and started drawing even with Mickey. Mike could only stare in envy at Geonti’s back as he ran toward the aircraft. Mike saw Matki’s face, and knew the man was in great pain from bouncing across Mickey’s shoulder. He had one fist shoved into his mouth to stifle his own cries. Jendi stayed even with Mickey, not willing to leave his dad.

  Everett and Tom watched as the group ran toward them. Mike waved and pointed at the aircraft. Another bellow sounded, this one even closer. Mike was suddenly very glad that the engines were idling. Everett and Tom quickly hustled the pilot toward the aircraft. When the pilot got to the ramp, he bent down to grab the shoulders of the corpse and pulled him off. Everett picked up the pilot’s pistol, fumbled with it until he figured it out, cleared it and stuck it in his belt.

  Mike watched as Everett, Tom and the pilot disappeared into the aircraft. Caul and Geonti stopped just short of the ramp and watched as Mickey with Matki, and then Jendi ran up the ramp. Mike was next, and Caul and Geonti fell in behind him as he went in. Mickey tried to lay Matki down gently on the floor, but it wasn’t happening and Matki started cursing. Jendi said something to his father, but Matki was breathless from the pain. The pilot heard them talking, looked back, and reached toward the the table. Tom grabbed Shar’s wrist, keeping him from the electronics he was reaching for.

  Shar made a move of supplication with his other hand, and bowed several times.

  Tom yelled over his shoulder, “Mike, should I let him have this gadget?”

  Mike dropped Mickey’s ruck and his ruck onto the metal deck, “Well, he’s going to fly us out of here. If he wants to do us harm, he’ll be able to do it then. Let him have it.”

  Tom let go of the pilot’s wrist. The pilot grabbed the electronic device and turned it on. He started talking to it, and then the electronic device translated what he said to Matki’s language. Matki was in pain, but he answered.

  Mike looked at Matki, “What did you tell him?”

  “He asked if this was all of us. I told him yes.”

  Behind Mike, the ramp of the aircraft started closing. With Matki on the floor of the aircraft, Mickey started working on the leg again.

  “Matki, tell him to fly us up to your village. The dragon won’t go up the valley too far.”

  Matki translated that. The pilot listened as it was translated electronically. Once the translator was finished, the pilot nodded, and replied.

  Matki listened, and translated, “yeah, he can take us there.”

  Everett looked over at Mike, “What if this thing has a GPS tracker in it?”

  Mike shrugged, “Lo-Jack? We’ll deal with that when we have to. At least the Ancient will be in the rearview mirror.”

  Mike listened to the intensity of the engines increase as the pilot lifted off the ground. Tom moved to a seat where he could watch Shar. As the aircraft surged up, Mike felt himself pushed down into his seat. Whatever propelled the aircraft didn’t extend into the cabin. No anti grav effects in here.

  Mike stood up and walked over to a porthole. He looked out and saw the ancient standing on the other side of the river. That evil beast stared at the aircraft as it lifted and flew up the valley. Mike wondered if it would cross the river. He knew the smell of fresh blood was probably attracting it.

  Hopefully the damn thing would give up and head back down into dragon valley. There was a lot of equipment out there that they could use. Some of it would be damaged from combat, and the fight with the Ancient, but hopefully a lot of it was still usable. If the dragon left, then Matki’s tribe could recover everything. They might even be able to arm Matki’s entire tribe, and some of the neighboring tribes. Kill some more grey men, and they would have their own army. The problem, of course, was the expendables, the ammunition and the cleaning kits. None of the combat vests would fit Matki’s tribe either. The grey men were much broader across the chest and back.

  Mike looked back at the alien pilot. Things were much stranger in this world than he ever imagined. He was in an aircraft that shouldn’t even be able to get off of the ground, but it did. It shouldn’t be able to fly, but he was watching the forest pass by below him. The same ground it had taken them two days to cover would be traversed in about thirty to forty minutes, most of that due to take off and landing.

  Mike needed answers. He needed to know the lay of the land. He needed to know who else was in this world and what the threats were. Hopefully, the pilot would be able to answer some of his questions. He walked back to his seat. Everett gave him a questioning glance. Mike ignored it and stared at the opposite wall. Everett turned back to look at the pilot.

  Mike felt the aircraft turn in a tight radius. It wouldn’t be long now. Mike figured that the pilot was checking out the landing zone for threats. Even though the aircraft was different, the tactics didn’t change. That fact alone could be the only thing that saved the old Earthers. He just thanked God that they hadn’t run into anymore of the robots.

  The aircraft settled lower. Mike watched through the porthole as treetops appeared to block the view of the mountains. The aircraft slowed to a hover, and Mike felt it tentatively touch the ground, and then settle so that its weight was fully.

  Mike yelled over the sound of the engines, “Matki, we need scouts out to make sure that there’s no bad guys waiting for us.”

  Matki repeated this to Caul and Geonti. They were down the ramp as soon as it opened, running to the tree line to recce the area. Tom wandered to the ramp, and sat down to give cover with his rifle.

  “Matki, tell the pilot to kill the engines.”

  Matki spoke to the pilot, who waited for the electronic translation. The pilot didn’t move to turn off the engines. He explained something to Matki, then Matki repeated it to Mike, “Mike, he wants to wait until the scouts come back. If there is something out there, he wants to be able to take off quickly.”

  Mike thought about it, then nodded, “Good idea. We can wait.”

  That was what they did until Caul came trotting back out of the woods thirty minutes later. He started talking to Matki. Mike waited for the translation.

  “Mike, Caul and Geonti completed a circuit around the landing zone. There’s nothing out there that they could find. There are some supplies here though. Looks like more ammunition, food, water.”

  Mike looked at the pilot, “Okay, you can shut off the engines now.”

  “Hey, leave the interior lights on. I need to take care of Matki’s wound,” Mickey said as he continued to work on Matki. Matki relayed this to Shar.

  Shar hit the switch, though he left the lights on, and the power to the engines spooled down until they were finally quiet. Mike motioned for Shar to come back and join them.

  Shar stood up and walked back to cargo seating. He sat down across from Mike, next to Everett. Shar turned and said something to Matki as he sat down. When he was finished, Matki, Caul, and Jendi looked sick. Matki looked at Mike, “Mike, the pilot says we shouldn’t eat the food that the grey men, the Turinzoni, left behind.”

  “Turinzoni? Is that what he calls the grey men?”

  Matki nodded, “Yes that is the name he gives the grey men.”

  “Why can’t we eat the food?”

  “Evidently Shar can’t eat it. He says it’s poisonous to him. He doesn’t know how it will affect other thregari.”

  Mike was puzzled, “Well, we have a spectrometer that will allow us to find out if it’s poisonous or not. What’s a thregari?”

  Matki motioned to himself, then Mike and his team, “I think he means us. My tribe and yours. Possibly himself as well.”

  Mike pointed at Shar, “Thregari?”

  Shar had a perplexed look on his face.
Then he made a half nod, spreading his hands. He spoke, and Matki translated, “He says, to the Turinzoni, yes, he is a thregari. He is considered to be sub-human by the Turinzoni.”

  “You don’t like the Turinzoni?” Mike asked.

  “They view me as an inferior. If I was not useful to them, they would have no problem damaging me, or killing me. They have games they play with others they view as lessor races.”

  “And, you’re useful to them?” Mike asked.

  Shar nodded, “Yes, I can fly the aircraft. They are too stupid to understand how it works.”

  Mike looked over at the pilot’s seat and studied the controls. As complicated as it looked, he could well understand that there might be problems learning to fly it. He turned back to Shar and continued, “Where do these Turinzoni come from. Where do they live?”

  “There is a base south of here. That is where they are from.”

  “A base? That doesn’t sound permanent. Do they have women, children there?”

  Understanding lit Shar’s face, “Oh, no, I understand. No, they are not from this world. They are mercenaries, working for the Dostori Rev. The Turinzoni are security for the base. They guard the engineers and go out on raids.”

  That made sense to Mike. The Turinzoni were very different than Matki’s people. That would be explained if they were aliens from another world. With their technology, if they were from this world, Mike doubted that Matki’s people would have survived long if they had to compete.

  Everett continued questioning the pilot, “Are you from this world?”

  Shar smiled and shook his head, “No, I am not from this world. I am from a much different planet.”

  Okay, that explained that then. Shar was also an alien from another world. That would explain the difference in the hands, and the throat sack that Mike found so disconcerting.

  “Where are you from?” Shar asked.

  Mike was unwilling to give Shar that information. He didn’t want Shar to know just how few of them there were. The last thing he needed was for a brigade of soldiers arriving at their compound. He ignored the question, “This base, what kind of raids do they go on, and what are the engineers for?”

  Shar pointed at Matki, “They hunt the primitive thregari that are here. Then they use them, and take them back to the main city for transportation.”

  Mike didn’t like this answer, “What do you mean, use them? And where are they being transported to?”

  Shar looked at Mike like he was dense, “They are being sold. They are a commodity.”

  Mike wished he could be shocked, but he didn’t put any depravity past these people, “So, the people you work for are slavers.”

  Shar nodded, but he looked puzzled, “Yes. This is unusual to you?”

  Mike was incensed, “No, it is not unheard of. But, where we come from, slavery was outlawed.”

  “Mostly,” Everett added, “There are still a few middle eastern and northern African countries that have slavery. And, pretty much all of North Korea.”

  Shar was taken aback by this information, “This is unusual. I have never heard of such a place before.”

  “You mean, there is no place in this galaxy where slavery is not practiced?” Everett asked.

  Shar shook his head, “No, not that I have heard of.”

  Everett shook his head, “Man, I thought that would stop once they reached a higher technology level.”

  Mike shook his head, “Economics. Scarce resources. It depends on what you consider a commodity.” Mike pointed at Everett, Mickey, and Tom at the back of the aircraft, “We got lucky. Our birthright gave us a Bill of Rights. The founders of our country were unique in human history. Even then, after the three-fifths solution, we had to fight a war to make sure it was applied equally throughout the country.”

  Everett looked at Shar, “What about your people. Do they have slaves?”

  Shar nodded, “I myself was a slave.”

  Mike’s interest was piqued, “You mean, you used to be a slave, but you help slavers now?”

  Shar’s expression grew guarded, “Yes, I do help them now. I must make money to live. Slaves are a commodity, and must be transported. I must continue to be useful to survive.”

  There was something else there, something that Shar wasn’t willing to reveal. Mike paused, thinking, and filed that information away for another time. He decided to go back to something Shar had mentioned before, “You mentioned the Dostori Rev. Who is that?”

  If Shar noticed Mike’s hesitation, he didn’t mention it, “The Dostori Rev has claimed this world for her own.”

  “What do you mean, claimed it for her own? Is she not from this world?”

  Shar shook his head, “No, she is not from this world, though she has been here a very long time.”

  “How long?” Everett asked.

  “About a thousand standard years.”

  That blew Mike away. There was a sentient being that was able to live for a thousand years? He wondered if the time was being distorted across the translation, “A thousand years?” He thought for a moment, “How many standard years do you live?”

  “Not that long. My species only lives for maybe one hundred to one hundred and forty years. I am only forty years old, standard,” Shar replied.

  That still didn’t answer Mike’s question, though, not until he had a better frame of reference. Still, it seemed like this Dostori Rev lived a very long life.

  “Why does she claim this world?”

  Shar smiled, spreading his hands, “That is subject that will take a very long time to explain. Mostly, it involves trade and economics. It also involves political power. How much time do you have?”

  Mike looked at Everett, “How much time do we have?”

  Everett shook his head, and shrugged, “As long as it takes, I guess. Nobody around but us. I say we get as much information as possible out of him.”

  Mike thought for a moment. There was nobody around right now, but he wondered how long that would last, “How long before they come looking for the Turinzoni, and, more importantly, how long before they come to find you and your aircraft?”

  Shar paused, thinking, “Ah, the others, I understand. Well, Caon Verjon,” Shar noticed the confused look on Mike’s face when he mentioned the grey man’s name and explained, “The man I shot.”

  Mike nodded, understanding, “Ah, okay.”

  Shar continued, “Caon Verjon was supposed to send out a message every night.” He motioned toward the valley around them, “But that is impossible with the mountains. So, he would send a message out with the aircraft that brought us supplies. I was left here to help him. The next aircraft should be here in three days. There will not be any Turinzoni on it, just more pilots like me. Or,” he corrected, “There shouldn’t be any more Turinzoni on it.”

  Mike looked into Shar’s eyes, “What about you? What do you plan to do?”

  Shar looked down at the palms of his hands, then rubbed them together, “I have no problems. I took care of the one that could cause me trouble. I could fly out of here in the morning, go back to the base, and tell them that all of the Turinzoni were destroyed. Of course, I would blame everything on Caon Verjon.”

  Everett turned from Shar to Mike, “Well, that would leave us with a potential asset with the Turinzoni.”

  “I’m not sure about that. We don’t know anything about this guy. Plus, even if he’s on our side, how would we be able to contact him?”

  Mickey was finished with Matki. He leaned back from the bandage he just applied to Matki’s leg, “Well, I think he’ll be okay without the drain tube. I’m not too sure about the ammunition they use. It doesn’t seem to do as much damage as ours does. Other than the fact that the bullet that killed him clipped the artery, I think Rob would have made it.”

  This last was said in a very straight forward manner. With all of his training as a special operations medic and the hospitals that he’d trained in, this was a logical clinical observation. Mickey stopped,
and suddenly realized that he was talking about his best friend. His face cratered.

  Mike leaned forward, coming off the seat, “Mickey, it’s okay. Rob would understand.”

  Mickey nodded, looking forlorn, “I know. Hell, he’d probably give me grief about it then start laughing.” He sighed, “At least we’ve sent a lot of Turinzoni to hell.” Mickey patted Matki on the shoulder, stood up, and walked over to sit down next to Mike.

  Matki relaxed on the floor, leaning against his backpack. Matki spoke to Jendi, who brought him a canteen of water. Matki held the canteen up, “Translating is thirsty work.

  Everett changed the subject, “Hey Mike, one thing we haven’t considered.”

  Mike sat back and looked at Everett, “What’s that?”

  Everett motioned at the aircraft, “We have an eight-hundred-foot cliff at the back of the compound.”

  Understanding dawned on Mike’s face. He looked at Shar, “Damn, that’s a great idea, Everett. We could get everything to the top in a few days, no problem. This guy is a wild card though. I don’t know if I want him to know anything about us. The last thing I want is to reveal our location, or the amount of people we have, then have a world of hurt drop in on us.”

  He turned back to Shar, “How many people are at the base you mentioned?”

  Shar had to think about it, “Now, there are about sixty Turinzoni guarding the base, and forty to fifty engineers.”

  “Well, those odds aren’t too bad, not with the mechs,” Mike thought. He continued, “You mentioned engineers. What kind of engineers?”

  “Bio-engineers.”

  “Bio-engineers? Why are they here?” Mickey asked.

  Shar stared at Mickey, confused. He pointed at Matki, “You fix him, but you don’t know what bio-engineers do?”

  Mickey held up one ham sized hand, “Well, no, I know what bio-engineers do. What are they doing here?”