by GARY DARBY
From this point on, the scouts would merge with the forest. They would orchestrate their actions from hiding point to hiding point. Silence and stealth were the keys.
Meter by meter they crept, taking shallow, noiseless breaths, watching where they put their feet, their hands, to avoid even the slightest noise. In silence, they stole through the dusky growth.
Dason jerked when his LS started blinking at him with two distinct readings on the display. The first indicated a cluster of humans less than forty meters away.
But the second!
The reading almost caused Dason to drop the little device. The lighted display had spiked at 8.6 on the alpha scale, the theoretical number for a sentient extraterrestrial being—an Alpha Prime!
Startled, Dason froze in place, staring at his LS. He was still staring when a small pebble struck his arm. Looking up, he saw Bianca hand-signal, “Status?”
Shaken from his momentary trance Dason took several rapid steps and handed her the sensor. She looked at the display and turned to Dason, her eyes much wider than normal.
She pressed the pad keys to activate the internal diagnostic program. Within seconds, it showed the little machine in perfect condition.
Dason tapped her on the shoulder and gestured toward Brant. He knelt behind a tree and signaled that he had two readings on his LS, one human, and one XT.
Bianca motioned for Brant and Sami to follow her and Dason. The four backtracked a few meters and hunkered together in a hollow encircled by a ring of dark bushes.
In a muted voice, Bianca ordered, “Forty meters ahead. Go slow, we don’t want to tip them off we’re here. Brant and Sami, left flank, Dason and I will go to the right.”
Without a sound, the four slipped out of the depression. Almost hugging the damp grass and soil, the scouts crept through the dense undergrowth.
They practically hugged the ground they were so low and Dason fervently hoped that this planet’s ecology didn’t include the alien equivalent of poisonous snakes.
Though the temperature was mild, drops of sweat from the exertion and the adrenaline pumping through his body soon dotted Dason’s forehead. Every few meters he checked his LifeSensor. Both readings appeared to be stable and constant, indicating that the humans and XTs hadn’t moved.
Sliding over the mossy ground, Dason used every bit of foliage for cover and every technique he knew to become invisible in the bushes. He could see that Brant and Bianca were real masters of the art, almost ghostlike in their movements. They seemed to float, almost unseen, from one point to another.
The Star Scout manual for field operations stated that for a sneak, a team was to spread out in four to five-meter splits.
Dason noticed that none of them stayed more than two or three meters apart, and under the circumstances, he was glad to throw the book away and keep close to his comrades.
Brant motioned for the others to stop and hand-signaled, “Twenty meters, left front.”
Bianca nodded and waved the team forward in that direction. Creeping through the overhanging purple and green foliage, an occasional rustling in the brush told Dason they weren’t alone, but whatever small animals made the sounds remained out of sight.
Long minutes later, Dason heard gurgling water. Somewhere ahead, a creek ran from the ridgeline down toward the valley’s center.
Bianca touched him on the shoulder and pointed to her nose. He drew in a deep breath through his nostrils. Wood smoke.
A fire burned nearby, and the scent of burning logs carried through the forest. They crept forward a few more meters when all four froze in place.
Voices! Guttural and low, the sounds were close but out of sight.
They had caught up to whoever had made the mysterious footprints in the forest. A few more feet and they would find out if it truly were menacing extraterrestrials that held captive their teammates.
But what to do after that was anyone’s guess and more so, obviously full of danger.
Chapter Four
Star Date: 2443.060
Unnamed planet in the Helix Nebula
Crouching perfectly still, the four were like human statues in the forest stillness, fearful that they had been discovered. The voices faded in and out but no shout of alarm rang out.
To Dason’s ear, the raspy-sounding words were too flat and indistinguishable to make out. Was he truly listening to an alien tongue?
Bianca signaled for them to move toward the guttural noises. The ground sloped upward to where a barricade of small boulders and a fallen tree crowned a rising mound. Dason had the distinct impression that the ground gave way on the rise’s other side.
Not making a sound, the four angled their way to lie behind the giant log. Bianca motioned for Sami and Brant to go to the far end.
She and Dason would go the other way. Pointed with two fingers at her eyes, Bianca indicated that they were to spy on what lay below and then return to the bushes.
Dason crawled behind Bianca on all fours. He fixed his attention on the husky voices, trying to detect by the pattern of speech if the unseen beings suspected that the hidden scouts spied upon them.
The two wriggled on their bellies to the log’s end. A frondlike bush spread its soft golden green leaves above the fallen tree. Imperceptible to those below, Bianca pulled a leafy stem down so that she and Dason could look down into a little valley.
Dason gaped wide-eyed at what lay below, and for a moment, time seemed frozen to him. He held his breath, while his mind grappled with the scene below him.
In a deep, almond-shaped depression, were Nase, Shelby, and Granger along with a young, dark-haired woman.
Nearby, three diminutive humanoids, separated from each other, sat on a long, downed log.
Scattered about in a loose circle around the humans and the smaller beings were a group of large XTs who would, with no trouble, tower over Dason by several heads.
It took Dason’s shocked brain some time to register that he looked upon not one alien race but two. One species would barely come up to Dason’s shoulder, the other—he would have a hard time coming up to their elbows and Dason was a tall youth.
The smaller extraterrestrials’ narrow heads bulged somewhat at the crown and were hairless except for curved, tubular appendages that lined their skulls’ sides. Their dark eyes rested in defined ocular pits and seemed a bit oversized for their faces.
Each had an indented opening above the mouth that he assumed would serve for a nose. Thin lips framed an oval mouth that jutted forward, almost in a pout.
Their skin was a mottled mixture of greenish-yellow, with three very distinctive dark olive bands that ringed their necks. Two of the smaller aliens had two broad and one narrow band around their necks while the other had two thin bands and one wide band around its neck.
Two arms ended in almost human hands with long, slender digits. They appeared bipedal, but Dason couldn’t see their feet for their bodies were covered in flowing, light silvery robes.
Whereas the XTs nearest Nase were slight of build, the other aliens in the clearing were giants in comparison. A brown, light fuzz covered their large heads. Angular ears lay almost flat against their skulls, with bushy eyebrows centered above two chocolate-colored eyes.
Framed within protruding jaws their large mouths had flat lips, and the sharp, canine-like teeth told Dason that it was a good guess that they ate meat.
Though not as thick, hair covered their long arms and Dason could see hands with six large fingers. Belted at the waist, their forest-green tunics encased massive upper bodies, and their dark, almost black, corsair-like flared pants reached the top of form-fitting boots.
Bipedal, they moved with a natural confidence that gave Dason the impression that they were athletic by nature, comfortable in their surroundings, and feared little, if anything, in the surrounding forest.
Slung at a diagonal angle from each shoulder to the waist were two wide, deep-blue belts. Dason could see the hilt of what he surmised as a short sword she
athed in a scabbard attached to each strap.
On the right hip sat what appeared to be a holstered hand weapon, its oversized curved grip jutting out for an easy draw.
Whereas there were only three of the smaller aliens, several times that number of the larger XTs were spread around the camp. Two large aliens, with their hand weapons at the ready, stood near the captive humans and little aliens. Guards, no doubt.
Dason knew without a doubt that they spied upon soldiers or warriors holding the smaller aliens and humans captive.
Dason couldn’t help but see the irony in their circumstances.
First Contact was supposed to be a dramatic moment where humankind reached out with peaceful intentions to a fellow sentient race to bridge not only the galactic distances but also the intellectual, emotional, and mental differences between two space-faring people.
Humankind wasn’t supposed to find their first intelligent extraterrestrials sitting around a campfire in the middle of a forest holding humans and other XTs hostages.
A little deerlike creature appeared on the ravine’s far side. A large XT whipped out his hand weapon and fired.
A pencil-thin ruby-red energy beam caught the animal just behind its flank shoulder. The air seemed to crackle from the weapon’s intense heat.
The little deer sprang upward and fell without a sound, a smoldering hole just behind a front haunch. The XT marched to the fallen animal and pulled out his short sword.
Reaching down, the alien grabbed the buck by the horns and completed the work with a single, swift stroke of its blade.
To Dason, from the way he wielded the short sword it was evident that he was an expert in swordcraft. The alien hefted the dead animal up and carried it back to the fire. With deft strokes, he finished field-dressing the pseudo-deer.
Bianca eased the frond limb back and motioned with her head that they were to back trail.
A short time later, she and Dason slid behind the large set of thorny brush and waited. In quick order, Brant and Sami joined them and with swift hand signals Bianca ordered them back another twenty meters where they settled amongst a clump of fronds and bushes.
None of them spoke, each trying to digest the extraordinary spectacle of viewing actual extraterrestrial beings. Bianca whispered to Brant and Sami, “You saw?”
They both nodded, their faces showing expressions of being both amazed and perplexed at the same time.
She glanced around and murmured, “Assessment?”
Dason and Sami held their tongue, waiting for their seniors to speak. Brant whispered, “Two XT species. It appears that the larger beings are holding the smaller XTs and the four humans captive.
“Our crew looks unharmed, and the young woman might be from the Celeste, or she might be one of those who attacked us last night.”
He paused before saying, “We need to consider that the larger XTs have scouts and outposts nearby. We saw two leave the encampment, and shortly afterward, several more returned.”
Sami quipped in low tones, “So what do we do, say G'day mate, may we sit by the fire for a spell and chat?”
Dason glared at him and fiercely whispered, “No time for jokes, Sami. That’s Nase and the others sitting back there.”
“Sorry.”
“I could see,” Bianca observed, “that our people had their torso vests. But I didn’t see anyone with a cheek comm, and that means we can’t talk.”
“What if their earpieces are still in?” Dason hastily asked. “They could at least hear us and respond by code talk.”
Bianca bobbed her head. “Good idea. That just might work.”
She met their stares. “I agree with your assessment. The aliens are holding our people hostage. Why, we don’t know, and we don’t know the aliens’ intentions. The fact that they attacked us leads me to conclude that it’s a hostile situation.”
Motioning behind them, Bianca ordered, “Brant, you and Sami go back for the others. Fill them in on the situation, and then bring them up to that long depression we crossed and go to ground.
“Dason and I are going forward again and see if we can communicate with at least one of our scouts. If we can get some answers, it might help us formulate a plan.”
She reached out to Brant and said, “If we get caught or go down, you’re in command. Do your best to get everyone out of here safely. If, in your judgment, it would do no good to try a rescue, get back to the scouters.”
Drawing in a breath, she said, “After that, it’s up to you.”
Brant gave a quick nod and led Sami from the foliage, heading to where the rest of the team waited.
Once the two were out of sight, Bianca rapidly explained her idea to Dason. Minutes later, she was back at the log overlooking the narrow valley with Dason some five meters behind her lying behind a small broken-off tree whose limbs stuck up to form a scraggly, but sufficient screen.
Bianca eased up to the frond and positioned herself so that she could see down into the large ravine. With that, she signed to Dason to begin.
Dason hunkered down but not so much that he couldn’t see Bianca. He cupped his hands around his mouth to deaden the noise as much as possible.
He whispered as quietly as he could, “Stinger One crew, this is Thorne. I’m with Captain Ruz. We’re hidden, but we can see you. If one of you can hear me, rub your nose with one hand.”
Dason’s anxiety increased until Bianca gave him the thumbs up signal. At least one scout could hear him.
“Good!” Dason whispered. “Use scout code talk to answer. Understood?”
Bianca signed, yes, go.
Dason went on. “Did the large XTs attack you?”
Yes.
“Are the large XTs holding you and the others captive?”
Yes.
“Have the large XTs hurt you?”
No.
“Have you tried to talk with the XTs?”
Yes. No go.
“Have you tried to get away?”
No. No way.
“Any hand or feet restraints?”
No.
Just then, Bianca made the chopping sign telling Dason to stop. Dason could hear the large creatures talking louder than before.
For several minutes, there was a feverish pitch to their voices. Then, one of the creatures—Dason assumed it was their leader—overrode the others with several sharp bark like commands, and the conversation died away.
Bianca turned and crept back toward Dason. He whispered, “Signing off, something’s up.”
Bianca slid in next to Dason and motioned for him to follow. In rapid steps, they moved away from the camp before Bianca spoke in hushed tones. “Several more big ones came into camp.
“Had a quick discussion of some sort and then two rushed off. I can’t be sure, of course, but I think they’re getting ready to move.”
“How many left in camp?” Dason asked.
“About ten that I could see,” she replied. “But I couldn’t make out the ravine’s upper part so there might be more. The two that left sprinted out pretty fast with drawn weapons.”
Biting down on her lower lip, Bianca became silent, mulling over this latest development.
In a hesitant voice, Dason said, “Ma’am, I may be speaking out of turn as I’m pretty new at this, but it seems that we only have three options.”
In a tart tone, Bianca replied, “Who isn’t new to this situation, scout? Go ahead, spit it out.”
“Well,” Dason began, “it seems to me we have three options. First, we can try peaceful negotiation, meaning, one or more of us goes into their camp and attempt to communicate with them.
“Second, we do nothing, head back to the scouters and somehow try to contact Star Scout Command and let them know of our situation.”
He took a deep breath, let it out. “Or, we try an armed rescue now while they’re at their lowest numbers.”
Pausing, he stared at the ground, not wanting to voice his concerns as he felt that he had said enough as a very ne
w, and very inexperienced Star Scout.
However, Bianca said, “If you have more to say scout, go on, I’m listening.”
Dason brought a hand to scratch at one cheek as he sorted out his thoughts. “Well,” he replied in a low, solemn voice, “It seems to me that attacking could lead to casualties on both sides, and could sour any chance of negotiating later.
“If,” he said while grimacing as he didn’t like the feel of his own words, “we wait and see, that means accepting the fact that our teammates will remain prisoners, and the unknown risks as captives.”
He stopped to consider his next words. “The aliens don’t seem to be the negotiating kind. I mean; they attacked us, right? And if we wait, well, this might be the last, best chance of getting at least some of our people back.”
Bianca didn’t immediately answer, instead, she did a quick survey of the immediate area to see if any of the aliens had perhaps overheard them.
Seeing that they were still alone, she lowered herself, met Dason’s eyes and muttered, “Unfortunately, I think negotiations are out, too. If the XTs were amenable, I’m sure they would have tried that tactic instead of keeping our people hostage.
“You don’t hold someone captive if you’re looking for friendship. No, I think these characters are hostile. And I agree, I don’t believe we can take the wait option.
“I just don’t have it in me to let my people remain as captives, even if it is a First Contact scenario.”
Both grew quiet before the silence between them was broken by a distinctive click in Dason’s ear piece as his communicator came alive. “Bianca, this is Brant.”
“Go ahead,” Bianca whispered.
“We’ve got a problem,” the scout answered in a small voice. “We were moving up when a group of the large XTs entered the area. I don’t think they spotted us, but they split the team up.
“I’ve got Stinelli and the three new scouts with me, but the XTs are between the rest of the team and us.”
Bianca answered, “Understood. Stand by.”