Fernando turned the vehicle slowly and coasted across the parking lot. When he was 50 yards from it, he stopped.
“Look around, I don’t want any surprises,” he said to his friends who were checking through the windows.
“Looks clear,” came a voice from the rear.
“What now?” Lorenzo asked.
“You and me, walk towards them and we’ll meet in the middle.”
“I was afraid that you’d say something like that,” responded his friend.
Fernando opened the driver’s door and took his time stepping out. Lorenzo did the same on the passenger’s side.
“Leave your gun on your seat,” Fernando’s voice came said through the cab.
Lorenzo looked at his friend and reluctantly put his assault rifle and pistol on the seat as Fernando did the same.
When they were done, they looked at each for support then started to walk slowly towards the military vehicle.
After a few seconds, two doors on the vehicle in front of them opened, and two figures got out and moved towards them. One was an average sized man, and the other appeared to be a woman on crutches.
The walk was deliberate but continuous by all four. As they approached, nothing was said, but the measure of each was taken.
When the two sets of people met, they stopped, looked at each other.
“Fernando?” the man asked.
“Yes,” was the response.
“My name is Commander Timothy Barbour, and this is Technical Sergeant Joyce Bennet. You two have already met.
Fernando glanced at the woman and recognized as being one of the two that he saved from the MS-13 ambush. He nodded towards her, then redirected his attention back to Barbour.
“I’m glad you agreed to meet,” Barbour offered.
“My name is Fernando Felix De Francisco,” Fernando said with pride in his voice. “And this is Lorenzo Plama,” announced Fernando with a mix of authority and dignity.
The small party took a moment, and each shook the other’s hands.
“Fernando, I brought Sergeant Bennet with me, because she has something to say.”
Joyce Bennet reached out her hand again and shook Fernando’s hand. “I came to thank you for the help you gave Colonel Beal and myself. If you hadn’t intervened, we would have been killed.”
Fernando didn’t respond immediately. He just looked at the sergeant.
“It seemed like the right thing to do,” he finally said. “MS-13 aren’t the best neighbors.”
There was a moment of discomfort as each reached an understanding of what that statement meant.
“They probably aren’t,” Commander Barbour said with a smile.
“Fernando, times have changed. The world has changed. There is no longer a United States, and there is no longer military or police like what we had before the virus and invasion. We are working with the remnants of Washington and trying to bring some safety and order to this area. We don’t have enough resources, and we can barely protect ourselves. We know groups like yours are out there, which we can’t control and don’t want to. But we do need to find a way to live next to each other. MS-13 may be a good example. You don’t want them here, and neither do we. Perhaps we can work together to keep them out. We’re willing to let you live your lives, but we ask that you be civilized. We expect you to defend yourselves, your property and those you love. But we’ll have problems with murder, rape, slavery or unnecessary violence. All of which is typical of MS-13. In times of need, we may approach you for help, and the reverse applies. We will do what we can to help you if needed.”
Fernando wasn’t a man of many words. He stood and looked at the two naval personnel in front of him.
“How is the other guy?” he asked.
“You mean, Colonel Beal,” Sergeant Bennet asked.
Fernando nodded.
“He’s okay. He was beaten up pretty well. He has a couple of broken ribs and can’t move too well. Aside from that, you saved his life too. He wanted to be here and thank you, but he wasn’t able to get out of bed,” provided TSGT Bennet.
Again, Fernando nodded and said, “Commander, we’ll talk again. We are neighbors, and in my world, neighbors work together.”
With that curt statement, he turned and walked away.
Sergeant Bennet turned to Barbour and said, “That went well.”
“Could have been worse; let’s get back and check on Ron.”
BG Chases Drummond
“Sir, the shuttle’s course is towards that small rocky planet,” said Beta-3.
“It appears that it is slowing to dock with a larger vehicle.”
“Can we intercept it before they dock?” BG asked.
“Yes. It will take a maximum deceleration.”
“Do it,” directed BG.
“Do you know the other ship?” BG asked Carot.
“I assume that it is from the Illiod Corporation. They have control of that outpost.”
“Is it a military ship and does it have weapons?” BG demanded.
“I believe that it is one of their primary defensive ships,” responded Carot.
“Sir, we are decelerating into a position that is near the two ships,” Beta-3 said.
“Have they docked yet?”
“No, perhaps they didn’t expect us to arrive so fast. The shuttle is maneuvering to align with the docking port.”
“How much space is between them?”
“Approximated 100 meters.”
“Fire a slug between them,” ordered BG.
“Slug away,” Beta-3 responded.
The huge chunk of metal was aimed to pass precisely between the two vehicles and used some minor course adjustments to split the distance. The moment the projectile began its approach the two larger vehicles stopped maneuvering.
“Sir, the shuttle is now stationary with respect to the larger vehicle,” Beta-3 announced.
“At least I got their attention,” BG said in a low voice.
“Open a communication channel,” BG directed Beta-5.
“Our channel is transmitting on their frequency, and your transmission is going through our translator,” announced Beta-5.
“This is the Burlington. We will not allow your two ships to dock or to leave the area. I suspect that Captain Drummond, who you have kidnapped, is on the smaller vessel. She will be returned, unharmed or we will open fire on both vessels,” transmitted BG.
Drummond Riding in Shuttle
Darlene Drummond was tied to a chair in the shuttle. She was only a few feet behind Telorr and trying to use the alien material working with her brain to read him. It was a confusing time for him. Things weren’t going as he planned.
Losing one of his ships in orbit was against all negotiating protocols. Negotiations were a dance of movement, attack, retreat, and compromise. Moving his cargo ship closer the Earth vessel was only a move to get their attention, why should they attack and destroy it?
Darlene was able to feel the confusion and feeling of betrayal that he felt when his ship was destroyed. He quickly realized that he was conducting a negotiation with an unpredictable opponent and he needed support.
This can’t be good, was her first thought. Then she realized that she likely wasn’t at risk, so she should her time to gather as much information as possible. Telorr’s discussions to the other ship were rapid, and her ability to translate wasn’t fast enough, but she was able to gain some valuable information.
As Telorr’s ship approached, BG must have fired a rail gun slug between them. When he did, Telorr and the other ship’s Captain panicked a little. It was clear from the discussion that neither had a defense against such a weapon. All the other ship had was the energy weapon that was typical of the one the Terest used in its attack on the Chevesky. They had no long-range weapon and a possible attack by a rail gun was too much.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Okay, we’ve got a stalemate, BG thought to himself.
“Beta-1, launch 200 Cow-Robo
ts and have them form a cloud around both vessels. Let them know that I mean business.”
“The Cow-Robots are being launched,” announced Beta-1.
Darlene’s Suggestion to Telorr
Darlene felt only panic and confusion from Telorr. Judging from the rapid discussion between him and the other Captain she deduced that BG must have launched a bunch of their Cow-Robots.
I suspect that is causing them some concern, she thought to herself with a little smile.
“Telorr, you seem agitated. Tell me what is going on, and I might be able to give you some advice,” she offered without giving up too much information.
Telorr turned in his seat and glared at her. He was acting like he was offended that a female was offering to give him advice. But he had no other choice.
“Your craft has flooded the space around us with some kind of robotic creatures,” he said with a mix of disgust and confusion.
“You need to know, that those robotic creatures are more than capable of ripping the hatches off this vessel and removing me. They are also more than capable of dealing with you.”
Darlene didn’t want to let Telorr know that she knew of the other vessel, as he hadn’t told her.
“I suggest that you offer my return, or else they will attack this ship,” Drummond offered.
That was obviously a suggestion Telorr wasn’t happy about.
Saturday, November 4, 2051
Lee leaves China
Lieutenant Lee and Chang were excited to get their mission started finally. The Y-22 was loaded to its maximum with equipment, weapons and a full squad of Chinese special forces. Everyone was excited to lead their country into the future and to deal with all that resisted the leadership of China.
The first leg of the journey was to cross the Pacific and to refuel at San Francisco International Airport. No one expected much resistance or difficulty; they were sure that the undisciplined Americans would be vulnerable and easy targets.
The huge Y–22 circled San Francisco International Airport looking for any hostile people on the ground. There was no one. There were a few crashes and a burned-out terminal but aside from that the airport looked to be theirs. They wanted to land, refuel and take off again as fast as possible so as not to attract any local curiosity. The Y-22 had normal commercial fueling ports so it would be easy to find the appropriate fuel trucks on the ramp. As soon as the huge airplane ramp lowered, Lieutenant Lee and her squad of troops disembarked.
“Circle the area, take all the high ground, locate the fuel trucks and bring them here,” Lieutenant Lee directed her troops.
They immediately scattered in all directions to make sure that the huge aircraft its crew and cargo were protected. Within moments multiple fuel trucks were being driven towards the huge aircraft. As the trucks were lined up to begin the fueling process, Chang walked down the ramp. He was tired from the long flight, and he wanted to stretch his legs, so he strode up to Lieutenant Lee.
“Things are going well, as we expected,” said Chang.
“Yes, our plan is progressing as we hoped,” said Lieutenant Lee.
“Sergeant move that truck out of the way and bring the next fueling truck,” yelled Lieutenant Lee.
The trucks were moving as she directed, and she turned back to talk with her technical expert, Chang.
“So, you have these devices all figured out, do you?” asked Lieutenant Lee.
“Yes, we do, once we were able to get into the system, we were able to take control. We haven’t figured out all the code yet, but we’re able to interact with it and provide inputs so that the results are as we want,” responded Chang.
“It better work, our leadership has committed a great deal based on us being able to do what you say you can. You better be able to perform,” said Lee with a stern voice to her companion.
“I have full confidence, that we will be able to do what we told our leadership,” said Chang. The short man turned and walked back up the ramp; he didn’t like being confronted by the military. He knew they would be watching him, and he knew the results would be bad for him if his plan didn’t work, but he was in charge of the solution. They were just there to make sure he was protected.
The next leg of the journey was as quiet as the first leg. The destination they selected was based upon information they had received over the Internet. It was easy to figure out what the Americans were doing during the chaos. All the technical experts had to do was record key communications from those who survived and then at their leisure they could sit down and figure out where the people were and what they were doing. That information led them to a very simple but effective plan. At the destination, they would be able to take the next step in that plan, and success depended on Chang’s ability to do what he said.
The Y-22 circled the large airport, and it was impressive even from the air. It turned final and configured the pilot put the gear down and rolled to a stop in the runway. The tactical plan was to taxi rapidly to an area which could be defended, and that’s what they did. As the airplane came to a stop, they followed the same procedure that they did in San Francisco. The ramp came down, and Lieutenant Lee led her troops out into the bright Florida sunshine.
“Secure the area, make sure there are no Americans. I want this entire base secured,” Ordered Lieutenant Lee. By the time Chang was walking down the ramp, the huge cargo bay of the aircraft was beginning to be unloaded. The remaining soldiers and loadmasters were busy taking the tiedown straps off the vehicles and supplies, and they immediately began moving down the ramp.
“I want all of that electronic equipment in that large hanger over there. Send someone to find out if the other ships are here.” Chang yelled as he pointed to a large building with a small observation room on the top.
Then he turned to Lieutenant Lee, “Remember Lieutenant, I’m in charge now. I need your men to support me and to provide the materials.”
“Yes Chang,” Lieutenant Lee said with some reluctance.
“Lieutenant, I want ten of your men to drive around the area to make sure the resources are where I think they are.”
Lieutenant Lee immediately called out ten names and directed them to use the vehicles that already been unloaded and gave them clear direction.
“Drive the periphery of this base. And tell me how many robotic machines there are. I want a quick count of household servants and any other robotic units that you find. Bring the information back to me as soon as you have the information,” yelled Lee as they climbed into the vehicles.
“You five,” yelled Leah she pointed at five other soldiers.
“I want the power supply for this area isolated, find the substations and high-power lines and do as I instructed you,” yelled Lee. Again, the troops were used to doing what they were told; they jumped to her orders, grabbed their bags of technical gear and raced away in another vehicle.
Chang walked around the back of the large building as his gear was being moved and unpacked. As he turned the corner, a young Sergeant snapped to attention and saluted him.
“Sir, our other Y-22 has landed, and the Alien Ships have arrived. They’re distributed around the base, so they won’t be obvious.”
“Thank you, Lieutenant, please let Lieutenant Lee know that you’re here.”
Then Chang looked around and what he saw, excited him, there were rows and rows of robotic machines that were powered down and stacked. A quick count showed there were thousands of them, and the rows went on for a long distance. Time couldn’t be wasted; he had to move quickly. He ran around the corner of the large building and yelled at five soldiers who were unloading their gear from the airplane.
“You five come here immediately,” yelled Chang.
Lieutenant Lee didn’t like Chang giving orders to her people, but she knew that he was under a great deal of pressure and is willing to let it go this time. This time only.
“Put five of those robotic machines on the back of this vehicle and take them into my area,” Chang said
as he pointed to five of the robots.
Joan’s Meeting on Ter
“Captain, we have passed the orbit of Ter’s inner moon,” Beta-5 announced.
“Status?”
“We are being tracked by numerous missile tracking systems. They are located on the rocky moon as well as the planet surface,” replied Beta-5.
“Continue into orbit,” Joan responded.
How vulnerable are we? Joan asked SIMPOC privately.
We were able to outrun the missiles on our last visit. Although I doubt, we could be as effective this time.
We also weren’t armed very well, seems like a long time ago, added Joan.
Time is relative, and yes, a lot has happened. Responded SIMPOC in an almost sensitive manner.
“Beta-3, what other ships are in orbit? Are any of them warships?” Joan asked.
“Captain there are six large ships in orbit. They are closely clustered on the other side of the planet. Aside from those, there are eight others that appear to be offensive or defensive ships. They are in various orbits around the planet, and none will pass dangerously close to us,” said Beta-3.
“Use all of our sensors and try to get as much data on their technology as possible. Also, I want to know as much detail as possible about the planet, populations centers, manufacturing, and living conditions. Beta-Prime, please use all sensors and coordinate the information gathering.”
“Yes, Captain,” Beta-Prime acknowledged.
“Dr. Shappel, we’re entering orbit over Ter. Collect as much data as you can, but don’t do anything that might be deemed aggressive.”
“Okay, Captain. I’m just collecting data on their solar system and region of space. There is a lot to learn here.”
Just as she finished giving orders to the Betas, SIMPOC sent her a message.
Captain, something unusual is happening.
What, Joan almost screamed, as if she could through a mental connection.
SIMPOC hesitated, which drove Joan crazy for a moment.
“SIMPOC, what is happening,” she finally yelled.
Earth II - Emergence Page 16