Raging at the Stars

by Lesley Davis

  “Hey! No, you don’t. You knew I wasn’t CIA the second you set your ass in my van. You knew I still wasn’t legit when you brought me here and didn’t rat me out at the gate. You’re an accessory to my duplicity, Captain Martinez, because you know.”

  “Ask her about the aliens!” Dink raised his voice to be heard over the silent staring war going on between Emory and Sofia in the middle of the base’s driveway. “Ask her about the big guy. That’s no usual gray. That’s a whole other race. I thought I was going to have a geekgasm when I saw that!”

  Emory grimaced. “Geez, Dink. Too much information, don’t you think?” She took a step back from Sofia and her grabby hands. She purposely kept her voice low so no one could overhear. “What was the other alien? That wasn’t your standard close encounter alien. He was at least seven feet tall. That’s not little green men material. That’s a badass blue motherfu—”

  Sofia slapped her hand over Emory’s mouth and quickly shoved her around to the back of another hangar. “I don’t know what that alien was, okay? I didn’t know they had all those down there.” She shook her head at Emory’s disbelieving huff. “What I will disclose is this, and I have no idea why I am telling you at all.” She took a deep breath. “I worked specifically with the saucers we were manufacturing and have since I was drafted over to Area 51’s aviation department. I knew there were bodies, small alien bodies that were found at the crash site in 1947. Those were the only ones I had heard about. I have never seen them even though they were kept at the base.”

  “Area 51 had the Roswell aliens?”

  “They are the only ones I knew about but never had cause to have dealings with. It wasn’t anything to do with my job. I was aviation, not alien sciences.”

  “So your level forty wasn’t a refrigerator for a hoard of dead aliens, including a Lurch?”

  “Lurch?”

  “That one is very tall.” Emory grinned at her. She looked down between them. There was barely any space keeping them apart. Sofia was so close Emory could smell the lingering remnants of the coffee she must have had before she came tearing out after her. Emory knew it was totally inappropriate, the timing and circumstances were all wrong, but she was enjoying having Sofia pressed that close to her again while she described her role at a base long gone. She had to ask. “Why were you following me, Sofia? You could have left me wandering until I gave myself away and got hauled out by the guards here. There were cameras on me the whole time. I was going to be found out sooner or later.”

  “I saw you on the base’s security cameras after I found you weren’t calling your so-called superiors in a locked room. I knew where you would go. You never got the chance at Area 51, so I guessed you’d be desperate to see what was hidden away on the lowest levels underground. You’re nothing if not predictable.”

  “It’s my job to investigate. Why didn’t you just send the military police after me? You could have saved yourself a whole heap of trouble.”

  “Because I needed to get you out before someone realized who you weren’t.”

  “So this time you saved me.” Emory was warmed by that thought.

  “Don’t flatter yourself. I was saving myself. I’m the one who brought you here and let you loose in a conspiracy theorist’s candy store. Believe me, what the military would do to you if they found you out is nothing compared to what they’d do to me because of it.”

  Emory let that sink in. They were both watching each other’s backs. Emory patted Sofia’s arm as comfortingly as she could. “You didn’t seem surprised that there were a ton of dead aliens in Euphoria’s basement.” Looking back, Emory was intrigued by Sofia’s non-reaction to what lay in level forty. Sofia just shook her head and favored Emory with a small smile curving her lips. Emory couldn’t tear her gaze from them. She’d tasted them. She found herself not caring any more for Sofia’s answer. She just wanted to kiss her again.

  “I’ve learned that there are a great many secrets the military keeps. Secrets it keeps from itself too. It’s not my place to ask why. My place is to do my job.”

  “And keep the knowledge of invaders coming to Earth from the whole of humanity in the process?”

  Sofia nodded. “Not everyone could handle that truth.”

  “And the fact that aliens are now trying to blow us off the face of the planet for some reason?”

  “That is something for the government and the military to try to stop.”

  “You’ll forgive me for not putting much trust in either of those concerning that.” Emory was surprised as Sofia placed her palm on Emory’s cheek and stilled her restless movements.

  “Then put your trust in me.”

  “You want me behind bars,” Emory said, not trusting herself to speak while Sofia was touching her. After the cold of the storage level, Sofia’s warmth thawed Emory clean through.

  “You need to curb your insatiable need to hunt out secrets. Some things are best left unknown.”

  Emory couldn’t tear her eyes from Sofia’s. Everything she had dedicated her life to slipped away as unimportant. “Are we staying here?”

  Sofia shook her head. “No. I have my orders to reach the other base so we need to head out once I’ve gathered supplies.”

  Emory was disappointed when Sofia moved away. She cursed herself for letting her mind be clouded by a pretty woman who stood for everything Emory tried to bring down.

  Like having aliens invading wasn’t enough to contend with.

  “These supplies, any chance they could include a couple of the laser guns I know are available?” Emory was amused to see the spark ignite in Sofia’s eyes. The glare leveled at her was just plain adorable too. Now that was the Sofia she was starting to know and love. Emory swallowed hard.

  She always had to add something else to the mix to contend with too.

  “Just how much did you see on the weapons level?” Sofia shook her head in exasperation and walked off muttering to herself. “God, you make it so hard for me not to just kill you myself.”

  Emory hurried after her, trotting beside her like an excitable pup, deliberately baiting Sofia’s temper with her exuberance. She nudged Sofia’s shoulder. “Admit it, you like me.”

  “Don’t you dare leave my side again,” Sofia ordered, her voice threatening retribution if Emory dared to disobey.

  “Wouldn’t dream of it.” Emory saluted her and added a wink.

  “Don’t tempt me, Emory Hawkes.”

  I’ll try not to dream of that either, Emory thought with a smile.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Emory sat busy stuffing as much of the sandwich she had into her mouth without choking. She was starving, but Sofia didn’t seem to have a pause button that meant they could sit and eat like civilized people under the threat of an alien invasion. Emory was watching as Sofia systematically went through the armory piece by agonizing piece. She was picking out suitable weaponry to carry with them on their journey. Around a mouth filled with ham and lettuce, Emory tried to catch Sofia’s attention.

  “How about that one? The silver one with the scope thing?” She pointed toward a high-powered sniper rifle that looked suitably lethal to Emory’s eyes.

  Sofia dismissed it. “That’s no use against a horde of saucers.” She continued sorting through the handguns.

  “And those are?” Emory grumbled. “Can you at least pick me one that I don’t have to constantly reload?”

  “I am not arming you with a machine gun. In fact, I am not arming you at all.”

  Stung by Sofia’s words, Emory huffed a disgruntled sound. “Man, you’re meaner than mean.” She dusted the crumbs from her clothes and slipped down off the box she’d been sitting on. She slowly perused the impressive lineup of weapons of all shapes and sizes in Euphoria’s armory as if she knew what she was looking at. Pistols, rifles, machine guns. Emory was pleased to note that Sofia had put one of those aside despite her comment. Then she saw it. Emory’s jaw dropped in awe. “Oh, please tell me we’re bringing one of these beau
ties with us.”

  Sofia looked over her shoulder to see what Emory was referring to. She snorted. “And just where do you expect that to go?” Sofia looked around to make sure they weren’t being overheard. “On the trailer to cuddle up against your tarp-wrapped alien buddy?”

  Emory ignored her and ran her hand over the missile launcher that fascinated her so much. “I could find room for this. Tell me about it, please.”

  “You’re still not having it even if I tell you its specs. It’s a Stinger, a portable surface to air missile launcher.”

  “What does it launch?”

  “The warhead is a high explosive.” Sofia touched the launcher with respect. “It has an infrared homing guidance system too.”

  Emory grinned. “See? You’re falling under its spell too, aren’t you? We can’t leave without it. You can’t leave Rooty behind.”

  “Rooty?”

  Emory nodded. “Look at it. This weapon is a serious Rooty Tooty Point and Shooty. It’s the ultimate in weapons.”

  The look Sofia gave her clearly questioned her sanity, but Emory didn’t care. She wanted the launcher and gave Sofia her best puppy dog eyes. Sofia stared at her then dismissed her.

  “Once you’ve stopped drooling over the launcher, how about you do something useful and help me get my weapons stored away in your van so we can get on the road?”

  “I think we’re making a huge mistake leaving her behind.”

  “You’ve assigned a gender to a weapon?”

  “Look at her. Sleek, toned, deadly when fired up. Sounds just like a woman to me.” Emory thought about what she’d said. “Pretty sure I’ve dated a few like that.”

  “Why am I not surprised you usually hook up with something that ends up going ballistic on you?” Shaking her head, Sofia moved to gather up her guns.

  Emory laughed. “Did you just make a joke, Captain? Admittedly, one at my expense, but quite amusing for all that.”

  “Just take these and put them in that bag.” Sofia handed Emory an armful of bullet boxes.

  “I’d ask if you were expecting trouble, but I’ve seen what’s in the skies above us and what’s invading our backyards.” Emory juggled the sliding boxes in her arms. “Which reminds me. Did you ask the guys here what’s happening worldwide?”

  “They’re a little preoccupied with what’s happening here to worry about how the rest of the world is faring. Though it has been confirmed that Area 51 was the initial attack point.”

  “So your base of operations was Ground Zero for the aliens. They probably found out you had a bunch of their buddies on ice like they do here.” Emory zipped up the bulging bag crammed with ammunition. “Which doesn’t make me want to stay here for any longer than we need to. Have they worked out how many black triangles there are in orbit at least?”

  Emory was aware Dink had been trying to figure that out as well. Especially seeing as they were the craft that looked to house the endless stream of saucers inside. Dink was of the belief that bringing down the triangles would slow the saucers considerably.

  “Someone else is probably looking into that, and we’ll get the report when they’re done.” Sofia’s look of irritation revealed she wasn’t too impressed. Emory had been keeping her up to date with all that Dink had found out from his research. It was becoming obvious that Dink had resources Sofia didn’t have access to.

  Emory could have told her that from the start.

  “I’m just thankful they rolled the tanks out for us, otherwise we’d still be stuck in that alley with the saucers buzzing about our heads.” Emory leaned against the table Sofia was still working at. “How armored were your saucers, Sofia?”

  Sofia never looked up. “Well enough.”

  “Enough to have given us a sporting chance against them?”

  “Probably, but we’ll never know for sure. The tech was difficult to transfer to our own saucers, but we managed to use it to our advantage.”

  “Did your saucers have the lasers too?”

  Sofia shot her a sharp look over her shoulder before she started packing away the last of the weapons.

  Emory sighed. “That’s your classified face. I hate that face.”

  “We’re at war. That still doesn’t mean you’re allowed access to all the secrets the military keeps.”

  “I’ll wear you down eventually.” Emory tried to pick up one of the bags and grunted at its weight. “Think you have enough ammo here?”

  Sofia sauntered over and picked it up with ease, swinging it over her shoulder. She gave Emory such a condescending look that Emory fought the urge to childishly stick her tongue out at her.

  “Show off,” she muttered under her breath. She followed in Sofia’s wake, feeling justified in staring at her ass after that show of superiority. Emory shoved her hands in her pockets and hid her smile as she felt the newly appropriated revolver snug against her leg. She kept her stolen gun hidden as best she could and held on to the purloined bullets in her other pocket so they wouldn’t jangle and give her away.

  Sofia really did need to learn to keep a better eye on her.

  Sofia left her with a warning not to move from the van and that she’d be back after she’d had one last word with someone whose name meant nothing to Emory, so she just nodded dutifully. She watched as Sofia disappeared into the main building. The second she vanished from sight, Emory made a beeline toward the armory. She flashed her CIA credentials at the airman who’d been on guard when she and Sofia had been stockpiling their weapons.

  “One more pickup and we’re good to go,” Emory informed him.

  “Can I help you, ma’am?”

  Emory shook her head. “No, I know exactly which one Captain Martinez wants me to grab, so I’ll be out of your hair in a flash.”

  He nodded and sat back down, leaving Emory to hurry down the aisle where she had seen what she’d come back for. She picked up the rocket launcher reverently, then collected as many missiles as she could carry.

  And here’s where the fun begins.

  *

  Sofia headed back through the base to talk to Major Chilcott, the commander of Euphoria base. She found him in the war room, staring at a set of screens that showed just some of the devastation around the country. It made for chilling viewing.

  “Major?”

  “Captain Martinez, taking your leave of us so soon?”

  He turned to face her. Chilcott looked weary and old. Sofia knew he was nowhere near retirement yet, but seeing him looking so defeated aged him dramatically. Sofia wondered how much of what she’d witnessed in the last few days had written its horror across her own face.

  “My superiors’ want me elsewhere, Major.” She smiled at him. “It’s nothing personal, I assure you. I’d be more than happy to stay here and man the tanks with your soldiers. You have an amazing force here. I owe them my life.”

  “I fear our bullets won’t be a match for long against what we’re facing. It’s as futile as throwing sticks to try to stop a tornado in its path.”

  Sofia saw her opportunity. “Has there been word of us deploying some of our more powerful weapons, sir?” The shake of his head made Sofia’s heart plummet. They had the capability to do more damage than doing ground-to-air attacks or sending up planes that were just swatted aside.

  “Between you and me? Word is circulating that there’s someone very high up in the chain venting their displeasure at the bringing down of that one black craft over Maine.” He leaned forward and switched a camera to the exact point.

  At first, Sofia couldn’t help but marvel at how huge the black triangular craft was with the military-manned camera sweeping over it live. She recognized the crash site from the photo Dink had sent Emory. The still had been nothing compared to the reality of the downed craft. It was spectacular, and the engineer in her wanted desperately to open it up and see how it all worked. However, as the camera pulled back she gasped at the devastation it had caused where it had fallen. A massive chunk of the coastline of Maine was m
issing. She tried to pinpoint its location on the map that Chilcott had spread out before him. That area had to have been populated. She couldn’t begin to calculate the magnitude of that loss. Whatever had been there was now crushed under however many tons of spaceship.

  “Oh my God,” she whispered. “We can’t shoot those things down. They’ll wipe out the whole planet landing on us.” She couldn’t tear her eyes away from the sight. “How many black triangles are there?”

  “We don’t know. We’re still scrambling for information. We were never equipped to fight something that had such superior firepower and the ability to use some sort of beam to abduct the population at will.” He rubbed at his face in agitation. “I fear we can’t win this fight. We’ve always been told that aliens didn’t exist. I’ve known respected men who lost their jobs over what they said they’d seen and were discredited for it. Now I have to believe they were right all along and I’d dismissed them as cranks?”

  Sofia felt sorry for him, but she knew all too well the secrecy that was perpetrated in the military. No one knew everything; it was never in anyone’s best interests to do so. You followed your orders and your superiors without question. You served your God and country. Only the select were ever privy to the fact that aliens had visited Earth. The government had done everything in its power to keep that hidden while they gave the orders to those in the know to use the technology scavenged for their advancement alone. It was as top secret as it got.

  Yet it wasn’t really a secret when people saw saucers that weren’t the military prototypes. When abductions happened but were hushed up in the press or ridiculed. When pilots, military and commercial, filed reports of seeing unidentified objects in their airspace and ended up discharged or benched. Sofia had believed what she’d been told and had ignored the warning signs from outside the protective military bubble she’d been working in. All she had wanted to do was equip the air force with a machine that could combat anything that came at them. She hadn’t considered that it would be against more aliens intent on destroying them.