by Chris Hechtl
“I'll need a force to secure them. We'll need to strafe the beach in a particular way. It will …”
“Doctor, we do have other priorities,” the major said in exasperation.
“I have a critical need here. I have a priority Alpha need,” the doctor stated, staring intently at the major. “If need be I'll take it to the admiral.”
“I'd like to be a fly on the wall to see it,” the major muttered.
“No, you don't. Otherwise you'd march me down there now and watch,” the doctor said. “You know I'm right.”
“Damn it, Milgram.”
“It'll be worth it. Trust me.”
“If you are wrong, it isn't just your ass.”
“I'm not pulling rank. But I am pulling priority. Deal with it.”
“Fine,” the major snarled. “I'll run it past Commander Roshou. You get ready. I need a detailed plan on what you want to happen now.”
“I'm not a …,” the protest was cut off. “Okay. I can tell you what to do and not to do in general. We need this handled quickly though. If they dive we're SOL.”
“True.”
“But I'd prefer younger subjects. So, if we can get them, we will.”
“They'll be left behind?” the major asked dubiously.
“The young can't swim. Not right away. Those we can net up easily if it is the right season. But …,” he frowned thoughtfully. “The same for the sick and old I suppose, the slow. But …,” he rubbed his temple.
“Go figure it out. I'll start lining up support,” the major growled.
“Understood,” the doctor said, stumbling to the door. He nearly ran into the hatch combing before he stopped and corrected himself, eyes intent on the tablet with the precious data in his hands.
The major shook his head and then started to issue some orders. The colonel was going to be unhappy, but if it got the doctor off their backs it might be worth it.
And if he delivered … well! It might be well worth the bonuses involved when they returned to the Empire.
>=,=@
Mara wished now she'd taken Admiral Irons invitation to go to Pyrax or Antigua. Anywhere but staying on her home world to see what the pirate bastards were doing to it and her neighbors. It wasn't just the threat of the pirates. The sea was a harsh mistress; her people were ever aware of the dangers, including the idea that once they entered the sea's embrace they were a part of her food chain.
No, it was seeing this, seeing everything they'd achieved in such a short time be brought down around them. It tore her heart out. It hadn't quite touched them yet, but the stories were bad enough.
She had found it increasingly hard to get the old, sick, and young off the beaches. There were fortunately few of the sick; the worms had been all but cured by the periodic visits by the navy medics led by Doctor Richards. But the rest, they couldn't go out to sea, and they definitely didn't have the endurance to swim the kilometers to the islands.
The deworming, access to modern medicine, more food, and the increasing changes in her homeworld had made their population virtually explode. There were thousands now, thousands of water dwellers of many different species. Neos like the selkies and otters, chimeras of many different bioforms like herself, and a handful of very shy species that preferred to stay in the depths and avoid contact with the surface dwellers.
She'd spent weeks doing the impossible, tirelessly working with the fisherman and boat owners to get those they could to the islands and to relative safety. They'd worked deals to help the fisherman and boat owners, some old friends also anxious to move their own families outside of the reaches of the marauders. The community had really come together under the crisis. She was proud of them.
She'd put up with the rich who'd come in demanding transport at any cost. The poor but desperate lubbers had set to sea in anything that would float. Her people had done their best to keep them afloat, but it hadn't been easy.
Gaggles of boats, dinghies, barges, and other craft had been roped and chained together far off shore. When they'd been bombed, the survivors of other groups had learned not to group in such large concentrations.
But in recent weeks fewer and fewer of the boats had been seen on the horizon returning to the dangerous waters off shore. The fisherman had turned their attentions to feeding their relocated families and supplying the outlying communities in exchange for the ever dwindling supply of fuel and parts.
She'd gone to shore with a small group of adults to find more medical supplies and other things on the shopping list she'd been given. In exchange for everything on it, Quincy promised safe passage for the remainder of the folks left on the beach. Whatever they found above and beyond his list, they could keep for themselves.
Unfortunately, it was a long list. A long list of stuff in very short supply. Stuff desperately needed by everyone it seemed and very picked over. They'd had to venture further and further inland to find some of the materials. Fuel alone was a serious problem. Everyone needed it to get out or for their generators.
“This is a fool's errand. We need to …,” Emory grumbled.
“You should have stayed with Sydney and the kids on the beach then,” Mara said.
“You said you needed strong backs to get this done,” Emory said. He had no intention of surrounding himself with screaming babies. If he'd stayed behind, he'd been stuck as babysitter, and he had no intention of committing suicide that way.
“Which I do. What I don't need is the distraction of your bitching. We need to keep alert. There are predators on land as well as in the sea you know. More now than ever.”
“Then why are we here in the first place?” Emory demanded.
“Because we have to secure the packages and get them to the docks so we can secure passage for the rest of our people to get off the coast,” Mara said in exasperation. “Don't tell me you didn't know that because I've told you often enough,” she said.
“I do know. I just wish Anita and Sydney would go.”
“Why did you come?”
“Because Anita insisted. I learned a long time ago not to piss her off,” he said in disgust, indicating his mate near the rear of the group. Anita looked at him, rolled her eyes and made a rude gesture. Mara couldn't help herself, she chuckled.
“Smart boy,” she murmured. “Come on then. This way,” she indicated the trash-strewn streets. She consulted the paper in her hand. It had a list on one side and a series of addresses on the other. “We're about half finished,” she said.
Emory wasn't the only one in her group of twelve to groan at that news. Many hated being on land.
>=,=@
Doctor Milgram stared at the marine lieutenant assigned to protect him. “I want you to understand,” he said, then he turned to the others in the shuttle's cargo bay, “all of you to understand this is an Alpha One priority. That is an imperial proclamation of the highest degree set by the emperor himself. We will succeed in our mission.”
“Doctor, we do not have a lot of time for this mission. We're also not set up or trained for this.”
“Listen to me,” the doctor said, overriding the lieutenant. “We've sent aerial drones into the area. We have the populations marked. What we need to do is cut off their escape. It is basic psychology; you drive them to where you want them to go and away from where you do not want them to go—in this case the water. The shuttles will be allowed to strafe the waters but only to drive them onto the beach and to the buildings. Lieutenant, you'll need to use a portion of your platoon to cut them off from returning to the water quickly while another goes after a group that has headed inland on some errand. Now, here is what we are going to do after that …”
>=,=@
The screams alerted Mara and Emory that something was up. Not the screams of her people, they certainly had the lung capacity but many lacked proper vocal cords. The long dead scientists who had created them had needed the room for the gill slits and breathing tubes it seemed. No, it was the scream of bombs falling and an aircraft buz
zing by overhead.
She went to a window and saw the puffs of dark smoke. Her guts froze like ice for she recognized where they were. Sand and water spouted as a shuttle made another strafing run.
Her eyes weren't designed to see far in air. She cupped a hand over them to block the sun but couldn't make out the details. Emory brought her a looking glass, and she looked through it to see a few heads in the water. Those heads dove as the shuttle made a third pass. They were driving them to the shore.
>=,=@
Water dwellers, humans, and aliens fled up the beach and onto the wooden boardwalks. They moved through the parking lots, seeking the dubious shelter of the seaside town. Doctor Milgram watched them come, eager, but also aware of those bringing up the rear. The shuttle pilot had injured or killed some. He saw bodies floating in the water. He hissed in annoyance and rage. But others were dragging their fellows out of the water and administering aide. Some might be worth saving.
When the lieutenant looked at him with a pointed look, he cleared his throat. “All right. The wounded on the beach won't be in any hurry to escape into the water. They'll die. We sweep in, cut them off with one arm. I didn't see many weapons.”
“Mostly spears and hand weapons,” the lieutenant said. “Pincer Two is moving in. They'll drive them back to us.”
“Good good. Let's by all means move in,” the doctor urged.
“You hang back until the area is secure, sir,” the lieutenant urged, pointing for him to stay with a pair of guards and his team of medics.
The doctor put his hands up in a surrender gesture. “By all means, Lieutenant, this part is your show. But do not harm them unless they offer direct threat. Instruct your men to wound if possible. Secure the prisoners so we can triage them.”
“Understood,” the lieutenant said with a curt nod. He turned to his men. “Move out,” he ordered. He touched his radio. “Squad Three, execute. Move in and surround the package but do not engage. Secure them.”
“Squad Three, aye aye, sir,” the sergeant replied tightly. The lieutenant checked his rifle and then followed his men onto the beach at a trot. Civilian vehicles they had appropriated moved out in rooster sprays of sand to get ahead of them to secure the critical approaches to the beach and prevent the abominations from getting away.
>=,=@
She felt Emory touch her arm, and it broke her intent gaze. She looked at him then to where he was pointing a few blocks away. Soldiers were there, creeping in. They were cut off with soldiers between them and the shore.
“We're trapped,” Emory gurgled. His webbed hands and sharp claws dug into the windowsill. His stripes pulsed with color as did his gill slits. Emory had wide, large eyes and a flat face that lacked a human nose. He had a broad chest and neck with his gill slits built into the base of his throat. He had fins on his cheeks and fins for ears. The antenna on top of his head flicked in agitation as did the fins on the side of his head. His top mohawk fins danced.
There was no way he would blend in she thought. No way any of them could. “Look, oh look!” Anita said, pointing to the children being rounded up.
“What are they doing?” Emory asked.
Mara focused on the captured children with the spyglass. Some of the parents were on their knees or tails begging the young to be spared. A few even swum in from the relative safety of the water. They were fools; all should know that children could be replaced. But they were also still partially human; the drive to protect their young at any cost was still strong.
The humans grouped them, allowing the children to intermix with the parents as they surrounded them. She watched as the pirates picked through the group once they were certain they had all that they could find. A group of men and women in medical smocks examined each of the captives with clinical but brutal hands. Their disdain for their subjects were obvious even from the distance they were viewing from. Some didn't bother to hide their disgust. Those of her people with Terran-like bioforms were immediately segregated into a new group. Those with bioforms not easily supported by the ships in orbit were checked over and then placed in a second group. Just about any who had a tail instead of legs was separated out into the second group. When they were finished, a second winnowing went through the first group, the old and sick were picked out like fish in a bait ball. They were dragged over to the second group. When they were finished, the soldiers leveled their weapons and executed the second group on the spot, much to her own as well as the captives’ horror.
>=,=@
Doctor Milgram couldn't help but grin as he checked his charges. All young, many in surprisingly good health. Youth was what he'd wanted. He'd deliberately weeded out the unsatisfying specimens. Those with wounds too grave and those of body types too alien had been discarded and euthanized.
He instantly regretted the action when the keening from the children began—so did the smell, the smell of fear and terror. Traumatic bonding he thought with a nod, but the look on some of their faces … he turned away. “Get them moving to the shuttle.”
“Good, we have a mission after this. We need to get moving now, Doctor. Time to fish or cut bait,” the lieutenant said.
“And the other group?” the doctor demanded, ignoring the urge to press on.
“Mostly humanoids led by a human looking female. She has blue skin and a blue skin suit.”
“Ah. Those with legs we will want to secure carefully. All adults I take it?”
“Yes.”
“Very well. I'll need an escort over to that location to triage them. Above all, none should be harmed until I get there,” the doctor warned, holding a finger up. The lieutenant grimaced but nodded. The doctor turned to his assistants. “Make sure they are kept wet. Secure them and keep them comfortable. Be aware of possible poisonous spines. I want a basic baseline profile on each by the time I return,” he ordered.
“As you wish, Doctor,” a nurse said with a nod.
>=,=@
Sydney was terrified to be in the clutches of the pirates. They wore some sort of swastika with three legs on one shoulder and various skull and crossbones symbol on their right shoulders. All were in armor. They were absolutely terrifying, but she'd fought to keep her terror under control.
Instead she studied them, looking for weaknesses. Then she studied the area. That unfortunately got the interest of the human in charge. She took note of a storm drain and he followed her eyes to it. A quiet motion from him to a soldier cut off that retreat as the soldier marched over to stand in front of the drain cover.
Thoughts of escape turned to despair as they were herded towards the edge of a parking lot. But that despair turned to minor interest as a shuttle came in, did a slow 360 turn in the air, then landed with a bump and kick up of dust and sand.
“Come on, kids. You are going for a ride,” the human woman who had examined her said.
Whimpers and wails greeted her false cheery news.
“Oh, don't be that way. Think of it as a new adventure!” she said with a smile.
Sydney saw the smile and shivered.
>=,=@
“Spirits of space. Poseidon bless the innocent …,” Mara murmured. Her eyes stung and teared up. She ducked her head to dash the tears.
“What? We heard the shots …,” Emory blinked at her with all three sets of eyelids. It was a sure sign of his distress she noted in the back of her mind. She shook her head.
“All gone?” little Anita asked, eyes wide in fright.
“Not quite,” Mara said roughly.
“They must know we're here. The building is surrounded,” a voice said from the open hallway.
Emory and the others muttered in fright. Mara sighed heavily.
“We can't run. Running is for lubbers. This was a fool's errand after all,” Emory said bitterly.
“It was a risk. I knew it. You knew it,” Mara said, turning her head away. “You out there!” she called out, leaning out the broken window. “I'll surrender my people if you give those you do not wish to keep
safe passage.”
“You'll come out anyway, whether you like it or not,” a voice replied with a bark of a laugh.
“Maybe. But we've seen what you're doing to our friends and family. We have nothing left to lose. You let the others go, and we'll lower our weapons. If you harm them, we'll shoot you and then ourselves and you get nothing.”
There was a long pause as they seemed to consider that.
>=,=@
“Above all they must not be harmed!” the doctor said, fairly alarmed.
“But, Doctor …”
“We need to show them an act of good faith. If some get away, so be it. We want the real prizes anyway.”
“They are disgusting, filthy creatures,” the sergeant snarled.
“And so are you, Sergeant. I don't care. We need them alive,” the doctor barked, locking eyes with the marine. “Now, are you prepared to follow my orders or do you want to face the consequences?” he demanded.
The sergeant's jaw worked and then he turned away. He inhaled and exhaled, then turned once more to the building.
>=,=@
“Send them out,” the human voice ordered.
“No deal. Here is how this is going to work,” Mara snarled. “We'll send one out. They get to the sea and then you get one of us I know you want. We'll keep doing that until we're out of people. One for one. If you harm any of them, if they are killed, we're done. The rest of us are dead. I'll … I'll kill them myself,” she said. She heard Anita's gasp from behind her but did her best to ignore it.
“What makes you think you are worth the trouble, lady?”
She glanced over to Emory who was using a wash cloth to dribble water on his and Anita's gills before she turned back to the window.
“Because I'm smart. Because I know you. Because I know you want us to navigate your ships,” she said, hissing the last word. There was a mutter from some of her people.