by Art DeForest
“Mr. Hunter do you know of a place we can seek shelter nearby, but out of town.” Alex’s face screwed up in concentration for a moment. “Possibly ma’am.” He said speculatively. “The Cantor place is west of town about a half a kilometer. It’s not far off the road that turns into Carlson avenue when it reaches town. It’s not visible from the road, so it might be a good place to hide. It’s also closer to that dust cloud in the hills. The scout ship I saw come to the school came from that area. Whatever they want, it’s up there.”
“Very well.” Said Cooper “Get packed, I want to be out of town while we still have darkness as a cover.” They split up then. Keisha went to prep her patient for the trip, while Alex went to pack their things.
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Commander Walsh was staring down at a map in his office aboard the mother ship. Office was perhaps too grand a title for the cramped cubby he currently occupied, but that was life aboard ship. He got on his comm and issued orders to expand the search south and east. None of the gun emplacements that covered the main thoroughfares through town had registered movement sufficient for a man sized target, but he wasn’t going to assume that meant no one had made it passed one of them. He’s just finished issuing orders when Colonel Sampson entered. “How is the search proceeding commander?” He asked curtly. “I’ve just expanded it south and east. We’re going house by house, but we still haven’t seen any sign of the spy.” Sampson’s face became stormy as he scrutinized the Walsh. “We cannot afford to let this person escape commander. It’s worth your stars if it happens. Do I make myself clear?” He said in a low growl. “Yes sir!” Said Walsh, bracing to attention. “I have constant patrols around the perimeter of the town while the search continues. We have him contained.” He responded stiffly. “You’d better commander.” Was all Sampson said as he stalked out of the office.
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Private Murdoch huddled in his hiding spot for most of the night. He listened to the intermittent sound of aircraft circling overhead. Eventually those sounds started to fade. At a guess he figured that the focus of the search was shifting. He had heard a commotion through the floor above him at one point and he counted himself extremely fortunate that there was no access to his hiding spot from the home above. That, combined with the fact that there was no alley behind the structure, had probably saved his bacon….so far. He was getting anxious though. The need to warn his squad that the search was on became more pressing as it drew farther away from him and closer to his friends.
His chronometer was dead thanks to whatever had killed the transport. He knew that even as he tried to read it in the fading light of his chemical light stick. “I should just throw the damn thing away.” He thought as he looked at it one more time. He kept it on his arm though, he wasn’t sure why. His patience ran out about two in the morning by his calculation. This was based on how long the average chemical light lasted after mixing the chemicals. “It’s the middle of the night.” He rationalized. “They’ve gotta be less observant than normal at this point.” Discarding the light, Murdoch pulled his camo cover over himself and opened the cellar door as quietly as possible. He slipped silently into the back yard and looked around. There was no sign of movement.
Once again, Murdoch proceeded north. He figured that area had already been searched, so was less likely to have armed invaders searching for him. Clamboring over the low fences that separated the backyards of the homes in this block was no great chore. All too soon however he came to the next cross street. He spent several minutes peering into the dark up and down the street, before moving out in a belly crawl across the street. He didn’t want to take the chance they had set up any more automated emplacements.
Once across the street he ran into a problem. The fence that shielded the backyards of the buildings on this street was much larger and made of vertical wooden planks. There was no way he was going to be able to get over it. Sighing in resignation he turned and continued towards the street where he’d first been discovered. At the corner he could see lights bobbing here and there as the invaders continued their search to the south. Turning back to the north once more, he continued on his stealthy way.
7
Alex, Keisha and the soldiers reached the homestead as the grey light of predawn started to brighten the eastern horizon. Under Keisha’s guidance, Ciner was ensconced in the master bedroom of the farmhouse. Once he was resting comfortably, she came down to join the rest in the living room for a strategy session. Alex reviewed his observations at the school and what he had seen and heard on his way back. Speculation was rampant on what had happened to Murdoch, what, if anything, they could do for the people of Carlson Springs and how to go about getting information on the invaders.
After much discussion, Lieutenant Cooper stood up to get everyone’s attention. “Calm down people.” She said in a large voice. “At this point our main objective will be gathering information.” Keisha immediately stood up in protest. “We need to save the town’s people!” She protested stridently. “ Who knows how many people are going to be walking around like zombies if we don’t get them out of there!” Cooper looked at her compassionately. “Keisha, with all due respect to your aunt and uncle, I believe they were the exception and not the rule.” Keisha’s eyes narrowed in anger. “How can you possibly know that.” Her voice low and venomous. Lieutenant Cooper’s gaze turn in Alex’s direction. “Alex, how many people did you see in the compound?” Alex looked at the lieutenant reluctantly, not wanting to get in the middle of an argument between his leader and his….girlfriend? “Uh, around fifty I suppose.” he said tentatively “And of those people how many had symptoms similar to Keisha’s family?” Glancing at Keisha’s angry face and wincing internally he answered truthfully. “Keisha’s aunt and uncle were the only ones.” He said, hanging his head a little under the gaze of both women.
“What has that got to do with it.” Grated out Keisha. “They could have all the rest inside the school where Alex couldn’t see.” Lieutenant Cooper nodded her head in acknowledgement of the point as she answered. “We have to act on the information we have and not succumb to our fears and speculation. The fact is that we don’t have enough information and we need to somehow gain it. We also know that the people of the town are relatively safe right now.” Keisha’s eyes sparked as she interrupted. “Safe?” She said, her tone rising dramatically. “Aunt Rose and Uncle Tyler are friggin zombies!” She almost screamed, fists clenched at her sides. Cooper’s face became stern as she looked at Keisha. “Yes, and so far they are the only ones who appear to have been harmed. To the best of our knowledge the rest are only being incarcerated. If we go in the with guns blazing, the chances of the innocent being injured go up dramatically.”
Keisha’s ire started to cool some as her first class brain started to reassert itself. “Isn’t there anything we can do to free them?” She asked miserably. “What would we do with them even if we did manage to free them?” Asked Cooper. “What’s to stop these invaders from simply rounding them up once more? Surely not the small amount of people we have here using hand-me-down weapons with limited ammunition. Keisha’s head drooped lower and lower as the lieutenant’s points hit home. She couldn’t bring herself to talk. She just sat back down looking at the floor, shoulders shaking. Alex put his arm protectively around her shoulders and she leaned into him for comfort. “The mission that we were ordered to undertake was to find out what’s going on in this area and that mission has not changed. We will investigate the enemy’s base of operations and try to gather what intelligence we can.” Scanning the room she continued. “We will also try to find the whereabouts of Private Murdoch and keep an eye on the town’s folk at the school. We will however, take no precipitous action unless our hand is forced by the actions of the invaders.
“Alex, how can we get a look at their operations without detection?” Asked the lieutenant. “We have three options for that. We can try to see down into the canyon from the rim, we can see if there is concealed entry at the b
ottom or we could try to try to go halfway up the slope and work our way in from there.” After a moment’s consideration he said “My preference would be to get up on the canyon rim and look down on the operation, but the placement of sensors and gun emplacements could be the deciding factor.”
Lieutenant Cooper nodded along as Alex outlined their options. After some consideration she replied. “We need more information than simple observation will give us I think. We need to try to hear what’s going on in order to try to determine who the invaders are and what exactly they are trying to obtain.” Alex nodded at that. “In that case, I think the mid slope insertion would be the best bet. It’s harder going, but it’ll have more tree and brush cover on the slope. That should give us some protection from motion sensors. We can also adjust our position up or down the slope as needed.”
Cooper started pacing as she considered her options. After a few moments of contemplation she stopped her movement and faced the room once more. “The group that tries to infiltrate the invaders base of operations needs to be small in order to remain hidden. For that reason, Mr. Hunter, Private Owens and myself will be going on that mission.” Turning to face corporal Jenkins. “Corporal Jenkins, I want you and Private Miller to take up surveillance of the school. Take no action as long as nothing precipitous occurs.” Jenkins and Miller nodded in confirmation. “Private Williams, you will stay here to keep watch. Keep Private Ciner and Ms. Wilson safe.” Yes ma’am.” He responded. “Any questions?” Asked Cooper looking around the room. Everyone met her gaze and either shook their heads or remained still. “Very well.” She said. “Get some rest. We will depart at full dark.”
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Private Murdoch sighed in relief as he entered the brush and trees of the greenbelt that surrounded the town. It had been a harrowing night. Near constant patrols went back and forth along the edge of town, sometimes passing just a meter or two in front of him. He’d found a hiding spot in a copse of bushes that decorated the corner of a lot on the north end of town. He spent most of the darkness timing the foot patrols and was finally able to take his shot at escape as the first bare hint of grey tinged the horizon to the east.
The majority of the search to find him had shifted and spread out south and west, causing his concern for his group to swell as night had progressed. At this point however, he could only hope that Alex or the guard on the main floor of the militia house had noticed the influx of troops and was able to give the lieutenant a timely warning. Murdoch had decided halfway through his night of hiding and watching that he would try to find out as much as he could about the spot where the scout ships kept returning. Taking a moment to stare back at the town from the cover that now enshrouded him, he sent a silent prayer that his friends would be alright. Turning around he slipped silently north towards the hills.
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Sergeant Alvarez ground his teeth in frustration as first light tinged the sky to the east with orange and yellow light. He and his squad had searched house by house all night from the north side of town all the way to the south. He was once again approaching the local militia building as the sky continued to brighten. The place had been locked up and to all appearances empty yesterday, but doing his duty, he once more approached the main entrance and tried to peer inside. Not seeing any movement or indication of occupancy, he absently tried pulling on the door once more. His eyes grew wide in shock and stumbled back as the door swung easily open.
“Sergeant Alvarez to Commander Walsh. Come in.” he quickly barked into his comm. “This is Walsh. Go ahead.” Came a somewhat tired sounding reply. “Sir, I’m at the local militia headquarters. I have an open door that was locked yesterday when I patrolled this area.” Walsh’s response was much more alert. “Are you sure sergeant?” Came the quick response. “Yes sir. I remember distinctly checking this door and finding it locked yesterday.” Walsh considered the situation briefly. “Very well, use your squad to clear the building. I’ll detail a scout to do an area search centered on your location. “Yes sir. Alvarez out.”
Squad two made entry into the militia headquarters and efficiently cleared the building. They were well trained in this. Much more so than open terrain maneuvers. What they found in the basement was certainly a surprise. Firstly, the multiple mattresses laying on the ground told of more than one person taking refuge there. Secondly, from the bloody bandages in a waste receptacle, at least one of them was wounded.
Calling it in quickly, Walsh instructed Alvarez to search the area around the building thoroughly while he adjusted the focus of the search. The buildings surrounding the headquarters showed no sign of occupancy. It wasn’t until a couple of hours later that one of his men found the signs of footprints from multiple people in the open country south of town that they had any indication of where the mysterious group had gone.
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Commander Walsh walked reluctantly towards Colonel Sampson’s ready room. He knew that the colonel was going to lose his mind when he heard about Alvarez’s find. Knocking on the door, he entered when summoned. Colonel Sampson looked harried, staring at his terminal screen. His uniform was rumpled and his hair was mussed. A half empty cup of coffee sat at his elbow. Walsh got the feeling it was just the latest of many that had been sustaining the Colonel.
“What is it Commander?” Sampson asked in a distracted tone as he continued to stare at his display. “Sir, our search of the town has turned up evidence of the insurgents.” Colonel Sampson looked up at Walsh with a hopeful expression that quickly became a scowl. “Insurgents? Plural? You mean there’s more than one?” He said, his voice rising in anger. “Yes sir. “ said Walsh “My working theory is that the group from the pulsed transport split their forces and sent some portion here to investigate.” Sampson stood, his clenched fists coming to rest on his desk. “Commander, “ he said in suppressed rage. “I might understand one or two people slipping past us, but how in the name of technology do you let a whole group get passed you!” He said, his voice rising into a thunderclap.
Straightening his shoulders and meeting the colonel’s eye, Walsh attempted to defend himself and his men. “Sir, we are not trained in open field tactics. In particular the fields of scouting and tracking have a particularly steep learning curve. The people we are hunting are far more advanced in those areas. “I don’t need your excuses commander.” Grated out Sampson. “Particularly when you tell me that the most technologically advanced association known to mankind is being made a fool of by some dirt grubbing farmers.” He said, glaring at Walsh.
Walsh glared right back. He was getting tired of being blamed for their technology’s ineffectiveness. “We are not the only ones with technology colonel.” He said in an angry tone. “They have something that can obviously defeat our infrared detectors and they can defeat our motion sensors by the simple expedient of walking around them. And as you well know Sir, we don’t have enough of them to cover all the terrain necessary to insure full security. This is not a metroplex action where we can limit movement by simply blocking off a few access ways.” Walsh tried to keep the volume of his voice down as he finished his statement, but it was hard.
“All I’m hearing is more excuses.” Sputtered Sampson. “I’d have you replaced, but unfortunately I have such limited manpower that I don’t have anyone to replace you with.” He said threateningly.. Trying to get ahold of his temper, the colonel resumed his seat. Taking a deep breath he asked. “What accommodations in your plan have you made to address this issue?”
Walsh took a deep breath, trying to reign in his own temper. “We have shifted the bulk of our search efforts to the southwest quadrant of town. In addition, I have squad two attempting to track the individuals down on the ground.” Sampson looked at him closely. “Are you sure Alvarez and his squad are the right people for the job?” He asked. “I believe so Sir.” Said Walsh nodding in confirmation. “He is definitely motivated to find the people who killed his men. Plus he has the most experience out in the field searching for them. He’ll g
et the job done if anyone can.” Colonel Sampson nodded his acceptance. “Very well Commander. Find me these people...Now!” Walsh braced to attention and saluted sharply. “Yes Sir!” He barked and turning on his heel, left the colonel’s ready room.
8
The hillside was steep and the footing treacherous as they slowly trekked towards the mouth of the canyon. He’d convinced the lieutenant that they had to wait for daylight before attempting the sidehill approach. The footing and the possible sensor emplacements were the deciding factor. It was well after dawn when they came to the mouth of the canyon that was the suspected location of the enemy base. Alex called a halt and began to carefully scout ahead with his optics, trying to find any sign of sensors or even soldiers along their path.
Reasonably sure that their path was unguarded to the corner of the ridge caused by the mouth of the canyon, they continued slowly on. Upon reaching the corner, Alex slowly eased into position to see quite a distance up into the large defile. The sight that met his eyes was impressive to say the least. Sitting on the ground a hundred meters or so inside the canyon sat the ship Alex had seen that first day while hunting. It was saucer shaped and huge. The housing for the huge engines Alex had seen back then were facing up the canyon. “It has to be almost two hundred meters in diameter and at least a hundred meters tall.” Thought Alex. It seemed to barely fit in the wide mouth of the canyon and Alex was glad he hadn’t had to try that feat of piloting. A large hatch, approximately fifty meters across, yawned open on the ship. It was like the side of the ship hinged open from the bottom at a point about three quarters of the way down from the leading edge of the saucer, creating a huge ramp into the interior of the ship. Peering inside, he could just make out the sleek pointed silhouette of a scout ship off to one side.