Near Dulce Lake, New Mexico - USA
Patrick Brown headed down to the main spaceship bay, Bruce walking with him.
“I want four ships for this effort,” Patrick called over his shoulder, “Make sure they head up to space and then come down and try to either make it look like they are from outer space, or coming up from the ice. If we get TQB blamed, that’s good or if we continue with the idea that it is the Nazi society we are good there, too.”
“You want us to deep six the Navy?” Bruce asked, no judgment in his voice.
“No, we aren’t against them here. Hell, we are on the same side, they just shouldn’t be messing with this technology, so they need to back the hell off,” Patrick told him as he punched in a sequence into the lock, put his finger on a pad and then spoke into a microphone. A second late, a buzz occurred, and Patrick opened the door, waving Bruce ahead of him and closing it behind them.
“What we do want to do is find out where they are going. We don’t have their direct coordinates so far, which is rather surprising.”
“How can that be?” Bruce asked as the two men continued down the rough-hewn hallway heading deeper underground.
“Honestly, I don’t know,” Patrick admitted, “I think the ships are being given coordinates to provide approximate locations and as they get near, their new coordinates. Someone is holding this information very close to the vest and none of our normal data acquisition efforts have been successful, or we would have already dropped down to check it out.”
The two men walked to the end of the hall which opened into a significantly sized natural cavern that held twelve ships. Ten of them looked like round UFO’s, sitting on four legs each. Two were bell-shaped, taller than the rest and one still had a Nazi swastika on the side and machine guns sticking out the bottom.
“You should take old ring-a-ding there,” Bruce joked, “that would cause all sorts of confusion for the Navy.”
Patrick laughed, “If I weren't trying to get TQB blamed for this shit, I probably would. That would be effective in throwing them off the scent, and the military would get their underwear all bunched up thinking we have a bunch of Nazi’s still around.”
“Don’t we?” Bruce asked, “Down in Antarctica?”
“Well, maybe.” Patrick allowed as the two walked up to four men, all in dark gray flight suits with helmets in their arms.
“Ok, guys,” Patrick said as the two joined the four airmen, “The Navy ships will be approaching the Schwabenland area tomorrow morning. You guys are going to go up and hang out above the South Pole. When we have a pinpoint on where the Navy is going to land exactly, you guys need to get them to leave.”
“If we are shot at, sir?” Primary flight leader Antony Rikert asked.
Patrick shrugged, “We shoot back. The originals did, they should expect nothing less. See if they are going to pack up and leave and if not, then keep ratcheting up the response until they decide it is a losing proposition.” He thought about it for a moment, “If you have to, sink one.”
“Understood, sir.”
A few more minutes of talking and the four men headed towards the latest ships Majestic 12 had been able to build with their advanced technology.
They were unleashing the latest of truly human technology. Not that hybrid bullshit of TQB.
Terry and Bruce turned back around as the ships, silent in their flight, navigated out of the large caverns. They took the route which would have them rise silently to the sky thirty miles to the north.
QBS ArchAngel
Kael-ven’s feet clicking on the floor alerted Kiel he was arriving before his door slid open, and Kael-ven entered.
“How are you feeling?” Kael-ven asked, looking at the cast covering Kiel’s arm.
“Like I was tossed about by a Koron-dak,” Kiel grunted. “But the Koron-dak,” he lifted up his arm, ”was nice enough to help try and fix what it broke.”
“These humans are difficult to understand,” Kael-ven admitted. “Now we see what must be Kurtherian modifications, but they do not have Kurtherian over-lords.”
“Perhaps the humans kicked them out?” Kiel chittered his laughter, “I know humans can be a bit of a pain in the ass, and sneaky when they want to be.”
“Yes, I found that out.” Kael-ven turned and walked to the small chair and lowered himself down, locking his legs underneath. “Their Queen beat me in two different wagers. Now, I have to listen to her questions and, I have to consider her offer.”
“If they didn’t keep beating us,” Kiel offered, “I would think they were just lucky.”
“No, they are more than lucky. They have a history.” Kael-ven looked around the room and assumed anything he might say, would be recorded. “I have spoken with the one named Frank Kurns.” Kiel groaned to Kael-ven’s comment. “You have met him?”
“Royleen calls him the human with a thousand questions. You can pick him out because he is always writing in his books.”
“Yes, that is the one,” Kael-ven agreed, “but he will answer questions as readily as he will talk.”
“I hadn’t thought to ask him questions,” Kiel admitted, trying to scratch his arm, his effort blocked by the human cast.
“I was top of my class in strategy, and I wanted to save my voice,” Kiel-ven admitted, “so I needed to come up with an idea quickly. As it worked out, he did not mind answering questions which helped explain to me why humans are so hard to pin down.”
“Ok, I have nothing better to do than stay in this bed and listen, sir.”
“Oh, I’m here to talk Kiel, both to you and Royleen. He is next.”
“Does Royleen know that you are coming to speak to him?”
“I doubt it," Kael-ven admitted, "because I have not informed him of it at this point. I figure if he knows, he will try to hide from me.”
"Is he still upset at losing to their scientist?”
"Yes, but in an area I was not expecting. Once he understood he was going to be challenged by a Kurtherian, he lost his courage. I think he is more bothered by the fact that TOM is a friend of a human, and he never expects to be able to overcome that advantage. I can't understand scientists, Kiel.” Kael-ven admitted.
“He should try bragging to his fellows how easy it will be to crush the tiny human under his feet, only to have the human change into a Koron-dak in front of his eyes. Between you and me, Captain, it was all I could do not to pee right in the middle of the floor,” Kiel admitted.
“I couldn’t tell, you seemed to be fighting very admirably to me,” Kael-ven told him. He had quit trying to get his people to stop calling him Captain. “Well, until he threw you up to the ceiling and you landed on J’llock.”
“Yes, I remember his eyes growing larger as I came down. He didn’t listen to get out of the way,” Kiel snorted.
“Once he gets out of bed, he would do well to work out with the martial team to enhance his reaction speed,” Kael-ven mentioned.
“That is almost adding insult to his pain, but I will do it, Captain. So, now that you have the pleasantries out of the way, what can I answer for you?”
“Your pain medicine must be wearing off,” Kael-ven chittered, “you are more forthright than usual.”
“My apologies, it is being around these humans. When we are in meetings, they seek to find the solution and do not allow caste or role to get in the way.”
“True. Let me explain what I learned from Frank Kurns and why I believe we are most fortunate that the humans are focused on attacking the Kurtherians.”
“It would be nice if someone could get rid of those galactic assholes, sir,” Kiel admitted.
“Yes, but you are thinking as a Yollin again. You are thinking what we might overtake if we didn’t have to worry about a Kurtherian clan showing up and causing us trouble.” Kiel-ven grabbed a flaking piece of skin, popped it in his mouth and started chewing on it. “I’ve had enough hints from those in the Queen’s group. They are building an enormous space station.”
/> “Please, tell me it will not be a larger design of the hideous one at the moon?” Kiel asked, his voice almost pleading.
Kiel-ven chuckled, “No. I did find out that the hideous station at their moon was a temporary effort. It is their first space station, I understand, and eventually would have been abandoned or enhanced at some level. They are a ‘practical before pretty’ type of species. Or, I understand that this group is at least.” Kael-ven sighed, “They are going to make sure Yoll space cannot attack their homeworld.”
“How can they possibly achieve that?” Kiel asked, “We are in four solar systems. We will rally around the King.”
“No, we will rally around the Monarch. It is what we have done for generations upon generations, and now I understand how Bethany Anne intends to protect her world from Yoll,” Kael-ven looked the floor and then back to Kiel. “How dangerous do you believe this human, Peter, would be if there were many of them?”
“Very dangerous, Captain. He heals, he is unbelievably quick, and he has natural offensive weaponry. He does not have an exoskeleton, so he does not have as much armor perhaps.” Kiel shrugged, “Not that it mattered in my case.”
“What if you had to fight him within a suit of armor?” Kael-ven asked.
“It would be a much more even fight. The advanced speed of the armor would offset a lot of the speed advantage he displayed. The armor would take a lot of the beating. I assume he wouldn’t fight me that way. I certainly wouldn’t.”
“No, I’ve been introduced to a new member of the Queen’s group, a female, Jean Dukes is her name.”
“Another?” Kiel laughed, “females were pretty rare on the space station, now you can’t fling an arm out without hitting one. Where were they at that time?”
“Apparently, there were commands to protect them. Unlike Royleen’s first assumptions, they aren’t stupid, although they may be lucky.”
“Is there a world of these beings down there?” Kiel asked, “Because if so, it is a world of Demons and perhaps our failure to notify the King …” his voice ground to a halt.
“Do you play Kabesh, Kiel?” Kael-ven asked him.
“The bones, sir?” Kiel asked to Kael-ven’s nod, “I have at times ... yes.”
“Every time Yoll has subjugated another race, we threw the bones. This time, we came up all white. It was bound to happen sometime in our future. One way or another, this will change Yoll forever moving forward.”
“Our names will end up slaughtered in the history books,” Kiel said, remembering how he was thinking by now, he would be rich back on Yoll.
Kael-ven unhooked his legs and stood up, “I’m not so sure of that, yet. I think that Yoll has been subjugated already for many, many generations.”
Kiel turned his head, “By who?”
Kael-ven stopped at the door, “By the Kolin, Kiel. By the Prime Rulers of the First Caste. Remember, we are here by the King’s decree to subjugate other species. This time, a species refused our offer.”
Kael-ven took a couple of steps and stopped, turning back around, “Kiel, think on this. If the human Peter turned into a Koron-dak, what does his Queen turn into?”
The door closed behind Kael-ven, leaving Kiel to consider his question. At first, Kiel laughed off the thought that the little human female did anything of the sort… Then he remembered her punch and rubbed his chest.
Did she change shape? Could she change shape?
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Chapter 21
Aboard German Ship Adler
“This is butt-fucking cold,” Craig muttered as he turned around to find Melissa behind him, “Oh, sorry ma’am!”
“Apology accepted,” Melissa told the guard as she walked around him, “I needed to feel what really cold was, so inside it feels warm by comparison.”
“That’s … logic of a sort,” Craig admitted, “but I’m pretty sure I would just grab more clothes, ma’am.”
Melissa stomped her feet on the ground, “How do they get so cold, so fast?”
“The blood,” Craig started, then stopped. “Sorry, rhetorical question, right?”
Melissa turned to look at the soldier.
Craig turned around and then back to Melissa, “Something wrong?”
“No, yes…maybe?” Melissa admitted, “I’m not trying to be a bitch, but you are using words I don’t expect to hear from those in the service.”
“What, rhetorical?” Craig asked and laughed, “Ma’am, it can be pretty damned boring on a lot of our tours. Plus, we have to do more than just pushups and swim forever.”
“Sure, shoot guns and kill things, right?” Melissa asked.
“Sure, that too,” Craig allowed, not taking offense to what was the truth. “But we also usually speak multiple languages, sometimes with different dialects. We have to understand the religious and societal rules where we are stationed as well as all of the different skills both physically and mentally to move up and advance.”
“How many languages can you speak, Craig?” she asked him.
“Not including English, I can speak Spanish, Pashtun and some German,” he answered.
“I’ve never asked Terry how many he can speak,” she admitted.
“Terry? Shit…oh, sorry ma’am,” Craig seemed to get just a little red in the cheeks, “He can speak at least six that I am aware.”
“Six? Wow, I didn’t know that,” she looked around at the sea, so cold but so deadly as their ship passed through, occasionally seeing ice in the distance bobbing up and down, “I hope we don’t become another Titanic.”
“Fat chance of that occurring, we have the equipment to stop that from happening,” Craig admitted.
“Good,” she turned back to him, “why did you say you are aware of him speaking six?”
“Terry?” Melissa nodded, “Because he can be a tricky SOB,” Craig answered, his eyes sweeping the water, “the guys and I always try to figure out something new about Terry all the time.”
“Why?”
“Well,” Craig put an arm out and moved Melissa closer to the wall, “Hold on, I can feel the ship turning a little, the wind is about to become pretty biting if you don’t move next to the wall here.”
“Thank you.”
“No worries,” Craig allowed and looked out over the water. “You know that Robert, our lead, and Terry go way back, right?”
“Yes, he says they were good friends when younger?”
“Yes, they did a lot before they joined together and then when they got on the teams, they stayed together. Those two have twin senses. Every time they got into a bad firefight, Robert had a sixth sense about it. And damned if every time that happened, Terry had somehow procured extra weapons that helped them get out of the … ah …” Craig stammered.
“Just say it, Craig. Believe it or not, Ph.D.’s can cuss quite well.”
“Ok, so Terry always seemed to have special weapons that he shouldn’t have had whenever they got dropped into the shit, and it all went to hell. In our teams, you find out who has the luck, you know?” Melissa nodded, but didn’t have a clue, “So, all the guys learn quickly to ask Robert if he has that itch.”
“Anytime Robert has the itch, Terry has the answer?” Melissa asked.
“No, not all the time. Often, we might see some action if Robert has an itch, but Terry didn’t have anything special, and it was never too bad. Anytime that Robert had the itch, and Terry had an answer for it?” Craig chuckled, “Well, we knew it was going to suck tar babies then, ma’am.”
“That’s what happened over in the pit?” Melissa asked.
“The Sandpit? Yeah. It was the first time those two had been together for a lot of years, and it’s like it never stopped, this connection they have.”
“So, Terry had the box brought on to the trip,” Melissa stated.
“Yeah, but then the President asks a favor from TQB, and we get a group of rainmakers dropped on the pricks jumping our ass, and situation solved.”
Melissa looke
d around, “Terry hasn’t brought in a wooden case, this time, I checked.” She told him.
Craig crooked his finger in a come here gesture and pointed to the bow of the ship.
Melissa’s eyebrows crinkled up, and she took a step into the wind, “Oh my! This is cold.” She looked towards the front of the ship, the bow lifting high in the air and slamming down. There was a man up front.
“What the hell is he doing up there?” she asked, her voice rising, “He’s going to freeze if he doesn’t fall into the water!” She turned around and stepped quickly back over to the wall, “Sorry, my momma didn’t raise a fool.” She looked back to Craig, “What is he doing? He’s going to freeze or fall off or something equally bad.”
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