Talosian Chronicles 5: Raptor Squadron

by Ben Winston

  He grinned. "Trevor's a good lad. To put it simply, I'm dying. I know that. He and my nurse here are trying to deny that fact as long as possible." He shrugged. "I'm old; no one lives forever."

  "That's very true, Sir, but one person's reality might be different than that of others. I promise I won't hurt you or make you do anything embarrassing," Beth replied. "Unless you piss me off that is!"

  "Doc, I tend to piss people off without even knowing I do it!" Jason replied. "Williams? I thought you were married to a blond woman?" he said the last to Ian.

  "We have a unique situation aboard ship, Sir. I'm not actually married to anyone but Jenny, officially," Ian explained. "By our laws, we can join together, but since I am such I high profile person, we are trying to keep that aspect of our lives as private as we can, things are difficult enough when dealing with the governments down here without that type of complication."

  "Makes sense. Admiral, the reason I wanted to speak to you was for Trevor; he's in a very poor position here," Jason replied.

  "How so?" Ian asked.

  "Trevor is my heir. When I pass, all of this will fall to him," he held up a hand. "He can handle the resort I have no doubt of that. Unfortunately, he isn't the only member of my family, and the vultures have already begun to circle. He doesn't stand a chance against all of them. They'll take all of this away from him and sell it off. He grew up here. When I go, the corporation will sell it off in pieces and I think that will be more than he could deal with." Jason replied.

  "Mother is such a bitch!" Prudence said softly.

  "She is still your mother, Prudence. I'll ask you again to not speak of her like that," Jason said in mild rebuke.

  She blushed. "Sorry Pampa."

  "I'm sorry, Sir, but I don't see why you needed to tell me this?" Ian asked.

  "When I pass, Trevor will be forced out. I've done all I can, but it's going to happen. I trusted Prudence's mother as the executor of my will and that was a mistake. She has the board eating out of her hand. She's convinced them of all the money they will make by selling out. They are already poised to take Trevor down by a vote of no confidence. She'll take over as the president and sell off the resorts. It'll crush Trevor. When it does, I would ask you to take him and Prudence as new citizens. If time remained to me, I'd see about starting up a new ski resort out there on your world for them," Jason replied.

  Beth leaned back and put her tool away. "So how much time do you think you would need?"

  Jason smiled at her. "I've heard you have some pretty amazing technology doctor, but I don't think even you can cure stage four cancer."

  "Actually, we can. I can take care of the pneumonia too and possibly even give your legs back to you; but once all that is done, I doubt you would want to come back here," Beth replied.

  "As promising as that sounds, I can't run away right now. Besides, how much time would it give me really? Five years?" he shook his head. "No, I've been dealt this hand, I'll stand pat."

  "Actually, we're looking at more like thirty years, barring any accidents," Beth replied. "Think that'll be enough time for you?"

  "Prue? Be a dear and send for Trevor please?" Jason asked the girl and looked back at Beth. "Doctor, are you certain of this?"

  "Under our laws, I could lose my license to practice medicine if I lied to a patient, Mr. Montgomery. I could even go to prison for it," Beth replied as the girl left. "Now that you know, I need to tell you that the pneumonia has caused an issue with your heart. If you remain here, I'd give you six months if you follow your doctor’s orders. Less if you continue to ignore them; just your stunt today took a month off that."

  "Dead now or dead in six months. What does it matter if I'm miserable?" Jason asked. "I'm still on borrowed time, Doc. But if you're sure you can keep me going another thirty years, I might be able to do something to help Trevor and Prue."

  "What do you have planned, Jason?" the Sheriff asked.

  "If the Admiral will accept me as a citizen, I'll retire and hand everything off to Trevor now and go for treatment. If I'm still alive, my will cannot be enacted and the board won't have the power to act. Trevor gets to keep his home, the business stays in the family, and I might live long enough to see those two get married," Jason replied.

  Ian activated his communit. "Operations, this is Guardian."

  "Operations is online. Aren't you supposed to be on vacation Guardian?" Chloe replied.

  "I am, and this call is a personal one. I'd like a shuttle sent to retrieve a medical patient who will be asking for citizenship. He's a personal friend," Ian replied.

  "Understood, Sir, when and where would you like the shuttle?" Chloe asked.

  "Well, there really aren't any airports close by, so your gonna have to have them land close to the resort, I guess. Get with Lissa and find a place as close to the main lodge as you can. The man is currently in a wheelchair," Ian said.

  "Stealth landing?" Chloe asked.

  "Maybe for the trip down and back, but the landing itself shouldn't be too bad. They'll just be picking him up and leaving again; should be no big deal," Ian replied.

  "Gotcha, I'll make it happen," Chloe replied.

  Jason also called his attorney and hung up the phone just as Prudence returned with Trevor. Jason waved him to a seat near Ian.

  "Trevor, I will be leaving tonight for medical treatment. Doc Williams tells me I'll be able to stick around for another thirty years if I agree to treatment at one of their facilities. So, I'm going to retire and hand over the control of all of this to you now. You know what would happen if we wait until I pass away," Jason replied.

  "Why do you need to retire? You can just resume your place after they treat you," Trevor replied.

  Jason shook his head. "No, I can't. The ghouls in the government would fillet me to see what was done. Besides, if we do it this way, the board won't be able to touch you, and Alicia will be left holding the bag. You've been running the place for the last year anyway, you might as well do it officially."

  "But, you will be coming back won't you, Grandpa?" Trevor asked.

  "Of course I will! We can visit each other anytime we can. Besides, I want to be at the wedding if you ever get your head out of your ass and ask her!" Jason replied, grinning. "How much longer are you going to keep the poor girl waiting?"

  "I… uh, I don't… She doesn't…" Trevor stuttered.

  Shannon stepped forward. "Trevor, I know you don't know me, but I can tell you with absolute surety that she indeed does love you. You already know how you feel, so just make it official."

  Jason handed Trevor an old rosewood box. "Take this. It's the rings your grandmother wore and her mother before her." He grinned slightly. "I had them sized to fit Prue two years ago. When it’s time, you can pass them on to your son or daughter."

  "Grandpa, you're a bastard," Trevor said softly.

  Jason nodded, and smiled back. "I love you too, Trevor."

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  An old Chinook helicopter landed in the clearing beside the Raptor and collected the military teams. About half the men in the two units actually said goodbye to Cindy and thanked her for lunch. When the Colonel on the chopper asked where Agent 'Smith' was, he swore a blue streak when the Lieutenant told him. Cindy had no idea if they left the spy in the hands of the police or not. She saluted the Colonel as the rear ramp closed and was surprised to see him return it before the ramp hid him. Putting her helmet back on, she activated her cloak and walked back toward the lodge.

  Two days later, during a semi-heavy snow fall, a shuttle set down next to the Raptor and deposited T'gan M'orel, four guard/assistants and Luke Belden on the snow. Ian, his family and the Raptor team were there to greet them.

  "Honored Matriarch, welcome to Earth," Ian said smiling. "I am actually happy to see you, but I got the impression this was pretty important?"

  "It is, Ian," T'gan replied. "We need to discuss that which Shies told you of when she left. Has Mrs. Laskar arrived here yet?"

&n
bsp; Ian shook his head. "No, Janet is supposed to meet us here; she should have arrived last evening."

  Luke sighed and nodded to Ian before activating his communit. "Major Hiro, please bring Mrs. Laskar here as per our earlier instructions."

  "I understand, Councilor. It will be done," the Major could be heard to reply. "Samurai out."

  Jenny and Julie both looked upset and concerned. "Luke, what's going on?"

  "Your mother is having troubles with her ability, Child," T'gan replied. "Currently, she believes if she doesn't share what she has seen, it will not come to pass."

  "She has been acting kind of strange the last few days. But we've both been so busy, setting up a time to see her has been difficult," Ian replied.

  T'gan nodded at his words, but continued to look at Jenny. "How have you been feeling, Child?"

  "Uh, f… fine Matriarch. A little trouble sleeping, but I went through the same thing after giving birth to Sean," Jenny replied.

  "Good, it hasn't manifested for you yet," T'gan replied. "Your mother and you are the only long-term precognitives you are aware of correct?"

  Jenny nodded. "There are other precogs, but they are all shorter term. Janet has the longest sight of all of us though."

  T'gan nodded. "Good, perhaps that means that the event is still far enough away that the rest of you are not being affected as yet." She turned to Ian. "Ian, it is for this we have come to you. We need to discuss preparations for our defense."

  "I understand Matriarch, let me introduce you to our group, so we can get back to the lodge and out of this snow," Ian replied.

  The group walked the short distance back to the warm lodge after Ian introduced the rest of the group that T'gan hadn't met before. She, in turn, surprised Ian by introducing her group to him. Two of the women that Ian had originally thought were assistants, were actually therapists brought along to help Janet and possibly Jenny deal with the trauma of their visions. They were both Benesian registered and Alliance authorized mental health professionals that specialized in combat related trauma. They both had very high empathy ratings and were telepathic.

  Cindy spoke to the other two members of T'gan's groups, as they were actually guards. She gave both women a briefing on the security arrangements that had been made and introduced them to the human security officers Trevor had arranged for them. Of course, she did not let the men know the two women were 'aliens' and the women played along with the ruse. The head of the security detail, a good man that took his duty very seriously, cornered Cindy on it, out of earshot of the rest of his team.

  "Okay Major, just what the hell is really going on here? You wouldn't need to add anymore security just for four more dignitaries; hell we got more protection here right now then the friggin' President would have!"

  One of the Benesian agents put her hand on Cindy's shoulder, stopping Cindy's denial. "Commander, I would be happy to tell you, but you have to swear to me that you will keep the information to yourself. This is very important."

  The man looked at her closely, but slowly nodded. "Okay, I swear I won't tell anyone. I'm only concerned about who we're guarding; I want to make sure we don't have any surprises."

  "I understand that, Commander." The woman replied and looked at Cindy. "You can tell him the truth, Major. He will not betray us."

  Cindy sighed. "Commander, Luke Belden is the head of our ruling council. For all intents and purposes, he is our version of a President or Prime Minister. The Lady Tegan Morel is actually named T'Gan M'orel and she is from the planet Benesia. She is the High Priestess in their belief system and is also the overall ruler of the Benesian people."

  The man looked thoughtful for a moment. "So what you're telling me is that we are actually guarding two heads of state here?"

  Cindy nodded. "Yeah, but there is a bit more to it than that. You see, Ian is not only our highest ranking military official, he is also a Fleet Admiral in the Alliance Military and a highly trusted adviser to Admiral H'joles, who is the Alliance Chief of Staff and nominal head of all military operations in the Alliance."

  "You're giving me a headache, Major," the Commander replied.

  The Benesian woman smiled broadly at the man. "Well, what she didn't tell you is that she is actually a Colonel, the most seasoned and senior member of the Special Operations group and the nominal second in command of that organization. She only uses the 'Major' rank in situations like this."

  The man sighed and shook his head. "You women are going to give me an ulcer."

  Cindy gave the man a half smile. "Sorry about that, Scott. We felt the fewer people that knew the truth the better."

  The man named Scott nodded his understanding and agreement. "That would explain the SEALs and Delta having an interest in you. I guess that means that just about everyone else is of high rank as well, right?"

  Cindy nodded. "I think the lowest ranked person here is Talena and she is the fighter wing commander on the Star Dancer. She's a Lieutenant Commander."

  "Trevor better give us a bonus for this job!" Scott replied shaking his head. "Wait, just how old is Talena? She doesn't look more than sixteen!"

  "If he doesn't, give me a call. I'll take care of it," Cindy replied. "Just remember, you can't say anything to anyone; not even your own men. As for Talena, she's twenty-four; two years older than I am."

  "You're all so young! How did that happen?" Scott asked.

  "That is a long story, Scott. I'll try to tell you all about it when this mission is over," Cindy replied, grinning.

  Janet was not in a good place when she arrived with the team from the Samurai. Major Hiro had ordered her sedated as she was almost hysteric when they found her in the hotel. She hadn't slept in over a week, and the visions had begun coming to her during the days, keeping her from doing any recruiting as well. She had checked into a hotel and just closed herself off from the rest of the world. Ian wondered why the woman hadn't killed herself to stop the visions.

  When the Samurai arrived, both Benesian therapists took immediate charge of her. They took her to a room in the lodge and began working with her to try to restore some form of balance in her mental state. They asked that Beth assist them as she would also need medications they simply did not have with them.

  It took almost two days of continuous work for them to get Janet back to a somewhat balanced mental state where she could speak to Ian, Luke and T'gan.

  "Janet, I know what you've seen is bad. Why didn't you come to us when this started getting to you; we would have tried to help you!" Ian asked.

  "Ian, from the first, this vision hit me very hard. The first time I had it, I didn't even know what it was I was seeing. I was physically sick to my stomach for two days after it hit me. I couldn't report anything to you since I didn't know what it was I saw. At first, I didn't even know what planet I was seeing. I still don't know who it is that's going to attack us; the Empire or the Caldarians. Sometimes I see both, other times it's just one or the other. The end is always the same though; it's the end that really gets me," Janet replied.

  She still sounded as though she were on the edge of hysterics, but was controlling it for now. One of the Benesian women was beside her and holding her hand. Ian could feel the calm serenity flowing off her in waves. Janet closed her eyes and fought her emotions back under control.

  "It's still very distorted and little more than impressions. Ian we lost. There's nothing left. No planets, no moons… nothing. They are coming here to utterly destroy us. They don't want to capture and will not accept surrender." She sobbed "Not even dust, Ian!" Janet replied and began crying. The Benesian woman took her back to the room they had been staying in, effectively ending the interview.

  "This is not good," T'gan replied. "You are not getting this vision yet, correct?" She asked Jenny.

  Jenny shook her head. "No Matriarch; just a vague feeling of unease during sleep."

  T'gan nodded. "Okay, it would be safe to assume we have at least nine months to a year before this event arrives. Whic
h doesn't give us a lot of time to prepare, but at least we have been warned."

  "Forgive me Matriarch, but my ability may not even react to this event. It has been spotty at best," Jenny replied.

  T'gan smiled at her. "It will react because it already is. All of your precognitive people will react this time. The scale of this event is so massive, that even our seers are reacting to it. When we report this to the Alliance, we will only tell them of our reactions."

  Ian nodded. "I was warned about that by Admiral T’rolith. He said that we need to guard this ability from the rest of the Alliance, but I don't understand why we would need to; they are aware of the ability in your race, and have not reacted badly to it."

  "Benesians do not fight, Admiral. It is widely known that we do not have any combat forces at all. What the other races fear is a telepathic, or rather a telekinetic fighting force," T'gan explained. "Long ago, there was a race of telepathic and telekinetic beings that did not have the same reverence for life that we of Benesia have.

  "They were all but unstoppable. They warriors could read the minds of their enemies and crush their ships without ever firing a shot. Shields and armor had no effect against them. Their precognitives could see any sneak attacks before they happened. They rolled over the other races in a war of conquest that could not be stopped and enslaved every race they encountered. Believing they were superior to all other beings, they forced the entire galaxy to do their bidding. Conquered soldiers were forced to fight one another to the death in massive arenas for sport, citizens were tortured and killed for any infraction against their masters, real or imagined. It was horrible. When they were finally freed of the controlling race, the different races of the galaxy all vowed that they would never let it happen again, and would destroy any race that developed mental abilities for combat. So you see, if the Alliance, as a whole, ever discovered your abilities, they would ignore the Empire and come after you. They would destroy every trace of your race in order to prevent a return of the masters."