by Tufo, Mark
“There’s a reason I lived today. There’s a reason you lived today.” My right hand absent-mindedly felt the pocket where Dennis’s letter was.
Spindler looked long and hard at me, weighing what reaction his words might illicit from me. He sigh heavily before he spoke. “I did not tell the aliens about this place.” He looked me in the eye directly as he spoke his next words. “But I would have. I was scared, Mr. Talbot. I have never been more scared in my life. I would have given them my mother’s address if I thought it would have given me another day.” He was having difficulty forcing the words out. "It is not an easy feat to admit your weaknesses, especially with a witness."
“Why don’t they know about this place then?” I asked.
“Because as soon as I gave this place up, my bargaining chip, such as it was, would have been gone. I gave them the armory first, figured it would buy me a day or two. I watched them eat a person, Michael, right in front of me! One moment she was alive and the next she was screaming these blood curdling shrieks as those damn things tore her apart! It was horrible!” He sobbed into his hands.
“It is,” I said, trying to offer solace.
“They ate her because the officer told them too, but I don’t think they really wanted to,” Spindler said. He was still crying and sort of ranting. I did not know it in the moment, but my interest was beginning to pique.
“They were fearful if they didn’t do as the officer said that they would suffer the same fate. They hate it here, they hate their officers, they hate humans. We are dangerous little monkeys to them. They just want to go home.”
“Wait, how did you get all this information?” I asked, stopping Spindler.
“What?” Spindler said, looking up from his tear-soaked hands.
“How did you get this information?” I asked.
“It’s what all military men do when they have free time, they complain.”
“And how would you know?” I asked, truly curious.
“I did two years of ROTC in college.”
"And they said all of this in English?"
"Some, not all, the rest was pretty easy to figure out." He answered.
I shrugged, it was something. “What else did they say?”
“We… we used to bitch about our C.O. and about drills and training, but it was a camaraderie, the complaining. Those beasts truly hate their lot in life. I wanted to ask them why they had enlisted in the first place, but I didn’t want to be noticed, not at all.”
I stood up. “They didn’t enlist, they’re slaves,” I told Spindler. I hurriedly walked out the room.
“Wait, where are you going?” Spindler asked. But I had already flipped the key back to the guard and was heading back to see Dee.
CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR - Mike Journal Entry 21
“We have always despised our overlords,” Dee said, sitting up. “Is this why you disturbed my sleep? I am well enough that I could get up from here and show you my displeasure.”
“Sorry-sorry, but what of your revolution?”
“It failed miserably. We had the numbers, but we did not possess the skill to use their technology. Once the element of surprise was gone, we became a very ineffectual fighting force. I’m not sure what we would have accomplished anyway.”
“Huh?” I asked, tilting my head.
“Even if we had won, we had no desire to enslave the Progerians. We just wanted to be free. To live out our lives as our God had intended.”
“Not seeing the problem, Dee.”
“Even in defeat the Progerians would never have left us alone. They would have regrouped, rearmed and then come after us again. There would have been no place to find peace. They are not an honorable derivative of our species. It saddens me that our evolutionary paths once shared the same roadway.
“What about now, Dee?”
“What about it, Michael? Are you saying we should have another revolution?”
“Why not, Dee? You still have the numbers and if you win you now have a new home. You went from a Genogerian hell-bent on destroying me to saving me and freeing yourself within an instant once you saw the possibility of that happening. You forsook your entire race to potentially spend the rest of your days with us humans.”
“In hindsight, Michael, I did not completely reason out what my actions would entail.”
“Are you saying you acted irrationally?”
“In my defense, there was a lot going on.”
“Dee, what’s to say that your brethren would not react in the same ‘irrational’ way? If we can somehow dangle the carrot of freedom in front of them, won’t they try to grab it?”
“It’s possible, Michael, but I would not have done what I had if I had not gotten to know you first. I do not believe you will be able to instill enough confidence in the Genogerians to follow you or believe you, even if you could somehow communicate with them.”
“What about you?”
Dee thought about it for a moment. “Yes, my words would carry much more weight than yours. Damn you, Michael Talbot, I was thoroughly enjoying this bed,” Dee said as he arose. “What do you have in mind?”
“I don’t really have a plan yet, but I think we should go see Paul.”
Dee’s feet had no sooner hit the floor when a klaxon blazed.
“Shit,” I mumbled, my rifle was at the armory. I had a pistol, but that was like bringing a pebble to a catapult fight.
“BREECH,” came over the loud speaker. “SOUTHEAST ENTRANCE.”
Dee looked at me.
“That’s at the end of this hallway,” I told him. We were already on the move when more instructions came over the speaker.
“UNIT 17, SECTOR 12, IMMEDIATELY! FULL DETACHMENT! USE OF DEADLY FORCE AUTHORIZED!”
“It might be wiser to not get in the middle of this, Dee. I don’t want anyone mistaking you for the enemy.”
We were quickly making our way down the hallway as civilians wisely streamed passed us, most in near panic mode.
“Where you go, I go,” Dee said, his rifle at the ready. “I had it next to me in the bed,” he answered when I looked again at it.
“Don’t blame you.” We raced when we heard the first shots fired.
Blue streaks whistled off the top of the ceiling.
“I was really hoping it wasn’t aliens,” I said. “Spindler lied, the piece of shit. I should have shot him.”
“Get down!” boomed an alien voice. “I will kill you if I have to!” More blue streaks flew harmlessly past our heads. Well, at least past my head, Dee had to duck as they were a lot closer to his noggin.
A couple of gate guards nearly ran into us in their haste to get away.
“Captain, we need reinforcements,” one of them said frantically.
“How many of them are there?” I asked, holding tight to his shirt. I was afraid he would bolt before I had a chance to get the answer I was looking for.
“A dozen, maybe more,” the guard said.
“That makes no sense,” Dee said. “There would be more rifle fire and Genogerians’ only sound during combat is that of a war cry, not a plea to surrender.”
“I could hear the footfalls of the detachment that had been sent rapidly approaching.
“Go!” I told the guard. “Tell them Captain Talbot has told them to hold their position. Do you understand?”
The scared private nodded and headed off to intercept the defenders.
For the moment there was a détente, no shots were being fired. All I could smell was the residue of spent ammunition and burnt ozone from the alien rifles.
“Genogerian, my name is Michael Talbot. I am going to come around this corner with my weapon raised. I would appreciate you not shooting me.”
“Is this wise?” Dee asked.
“I doubt it.”
Dee made a series of guttural sounds punctuated with some hisses and snarls, it was terrifying. I waited a few moments as the intruder followed with his own series of noises.
“What the hell
was that?” I asked Dee.
“Native tongue,” Dee said.
“Any chance you could clue me in?”
“I told him that if he harmed you, I would rip his teeth from his face one by one so that he could not chew his way through the Bahktran and into Heaven.”
“Did it work?”
“He laughed and said you would be fine.”
“That was a laugh?” I asked pointing over my shoulder.
“Come forth, Mi-chael Talbot,” the alien said having difficulty pronouncing my name.
“How do I end up in these situations?” I asked aloud. Dee shrugged. “That’s the best you’ve got?”
I turned the corner, my pistol raised. Like I had promised. There were two entrance guards prostrate on the ground, hanging over them was a very large alien. He wasn’t a Geno or a Prog, he looked to be a mix of both.
“My name is Urlack,” the big beast said with a slight bow. “It is an honor to meet the mighty earth champion, Michael Talbot. I had thought you would be bigger.”
“Hello, Urlack. Any chance you could put that big blue ray gun down? Or at least stop pointing it at me.”
“They have shot me, Michael Talbot.”
And when I looked closer I could see at least two bullets wounds, one in his forearm and one in his shoulder. It appeared that his chest plate might have stopped at least another three.
“Did you expect anything less?”
Urlack appeared to think about it for a moment. “I do not know what I was expecting, I am still unsure as to why I have come here.”
“Let’s have them go on their way and you and I will discuss it like the males of our species should.”
“Up!” Urlack shouted.
The guards looked up at Urlack and then over toward me.
“Go,” I told them. They didn’t need any more prompting. “Do not, I repeat do not have anyone come down here unless you hear more gunfire. Do you both understand?” They nodded and ran past.
“I would very much like to meet the one that talked to me in our home world language.”
Dee rounded the corner, his weapon secured on his back.
“Drababan Truchnel! It is truly an honor!” Urlack said. “They told us that you had been killed during the escape of Michael Talbot.”
“I have not been,” Dee answered.
I really had a witty sarcastic comment until I realized I was a minority at the moment.
“I have heard of you, Urlack, I thought you more of a myth than a reality,” Dee said.
I could not tell if that was a veiled insult or Dee merely stating a fact, although both could be the same thing given the right circumstances.
“Most of what you heard I'm sure is truth, my sire is a high-ranking Cabinet member who rutted with a Genogerian. As you know this is a common practice especially in the slave colonies, but the chances of an off-spring are extremely rare, I think I am more the product of an experiment in hybrid vigor than a successful union.”
“We are close enough relatives that we can procreate,” Dee said to me. “But usually the womb of a Genogerian is hostile to Progerian insemination. That is why our females are used as vessels for the Progerians.”
“Little chance of a little one coming back to bite them in the ass for their transgression,” I said.
Dee took a moment to realize the meaning of my words. “Exactly,” he said. “And those that do survive are usually twisted beyond recognition from their environment and die soon afterward. I have never heard of an off-spring making it into adulthood.”
“Those few that are not deformed are usually killed at birth by the mother, fearing that some retribution will be brought down on her head for her transgression,” Urlack stated.
They both spoke very nonchalantly against what we would consider high crimes on Earth, but were also practices that had been committed for millennia amongst various cultures and races; who was I to judge?
“Do you mean these humans harm?” Dee questioned Urlack.
“Not anymore. I am now an outlaw among our people. I have openly protested our involvement in this world and the subjugation of Genogerians as they are being ruthlessly slaughtered by the hairless monkeys.”
“Umm, hairless monkey here,” I said raising my hand.
“Yes, you are,” Urlack said, acknowledging my words.
Dee snorted. “The earthling feels you have slighted him with the reference.”
“But that is what they are—why would he feel insulted if I merely called him what he is?” Urlack asked.
“Their feelings are almost as soft as their skin.” Dee snorted again.
“How is it that we are having such a difficult time enslaving them then?” Urlack asked.
“These feelings running deep in them, drive everything they do. When they are threatened, they are capable of just about anything and what the Progerians did not take into account is that they will fight even harder when nearly all hope has been extinguished or the fate of a loved one is in jeopardy.”
“That makes no sense,” Urlack said, his face taking on a classic quizzical stare. “To dismantle hope has always been a first priority; much mightier civilizations have fallen once that has happened. And love is a chemical attraction that should be weakened under threat instead of increased. If a loved one should die, it is the perpetuation of the original subject that should be increased. These hairless… humans are strange creatures. How have you found your time with them?” Urlack asked.
“They have been hospitable, but mostly out of fear from me or from my human friend.”
“You consider him a friend then?” Urlack asked.
“Yes, but he is horrible at games.”
“Wonderful. This is about as bad as Tracy and Beth comparing notes. This is all really fascinating stuff,” I told them. “But I’m not sure how long that detachment is going to stay at bay with or without my orders. Urlack, you look like you could use some medical attention.”
He nodded in response. “Are your medical facilities adequate?”
“They lack the knowledge of our surgeons, but they know enough to be helpful.”
“Urlack, you are going to have to surrender your weapon,” I told him, “My superiors will not feel comfortable with you having it on you.”
Urlack seemed hesitant and I could not blame him. He was in the enemy camp. Recently he had been on the side hell bent on the destruction of us. That he was here now had more to do with his own species’ preservation than with ours.
“I will stay by you,” Dee told Urlack as he approached with his hand out to take the weapon.
“That ought to make everyone comfortable,” I said.
“Sarcasm?” Dee asked, looking back at me.
I nodded. Urlack took a long look at his rifle and the door behind him before handing the weapon to Dee who immediately slung it over his shoulder.
“How did you get in?” I asked curiously.
“I knocked, following the same pattern as the humans that entered previously,” Urlack replied matter-of-factly.
“I’m going to have to tell Paul to put a camera there,” I said to no one in particular.
“We’re coming back around. Everything is fine!” I shouted. “I’m taking our new guest to the medical facility—am I clear?”
“Very clear, Captain. The general has ordered an armed escort.”
“Tell the general that I will take care of the escort—is that clear?” I said, coming around the corner.
“General… Captain,” the lieutenant of the detachment said, weighing his hands like a scale. “Can’t do it, sir, I spent too much time earning these bars,” he said, pointing to his collar.
“Alright, why is everyone a smartass? Grab two or three of your least trigger happy men along with yourself and we’ll get this done,” I said.
The lieutenant turned and called, “Ouster, Hendricks, and Clantry—you’re with me.”
“Weapons holstered,” I said, putting my hand up like a traffic cop
.
“Sir.”
“Listen, Lieutenant, you’ll still be armed and behind us, should the need arise I’m sure you will be able to make ready in a sufficient time.”
“You’re stretching the general’s orders, sir,” the lieutenant replied.
“It’s what I do. Urlack has already been injured and is already feeling the ill effects from his wounds. The longer we wait here increases the odds that he might die.”
“I feel fine,” Urlack shouted to me.
“Dee, could you help me out?” I asked.
“He says that he feels fine, what more could I add?” Dee asked.
“This is brutal. Lieutenant, I take personal responsibility from this moment forward. Let me just get him to sick bay.”
“Alright, squad, everybody besides the three I called out, return to secondary positions. Do not move until you are ordered to do so.”
“Aye-aye, sir.” The remaining men and women melted down the hallways.
The walk down to medical was not quite as tense as I expected, but it also wasn’t a walk in the park. That probably had more to do with my nerves than anybody else’s.
Paul was waiting by the entrance to the hospital. “That the prisoner?” he asked me.
Urlack scoffed at the assumption.
“He’s more of a guest,” I told him hastily, hoping to head off any confrontation.
“Mike, you really need to stop usurping my authority,” Paul said in no uncertain terms.
“We need to talk. Can I get Urlack some medical attention and then I promise no more usurping today,” I told him.
He stepped off to the side to allow Urlack and Dee in and then looked over my shoulder to motion the lieutenant and the three guards in. “Problem with that, Mike?” Paul asked me.
“Sort of, but I’ll let it slide,” I told him.
“Appreciate that. Come on, let’s go to my quarters.”
“Dee, I’ll be back. Please tell Urlack the doctors mean well,” I told him. The doctor looked none too pleased at my words.
“I don’t like this, Mike,” Paul said coming right at me, once the door to his room was closed.
“Whoa, hey buddy, I didn’t invite him here.”
“Are you sure? The big green things seem to follow you around!” He was shouting now. “How do we know he’s not wired somehow?”