by Clyde Key
* * *
Soon after the additional sentry posts were established all around the alien territory, Major Baines accompanied Ed on an inspection tour in the veeto plane. Using the aircraft, they were able to determine that the troops almost completely encompassed the aliens. There were only a few gaps in the coverage where the terrain was too formidable. Ed and Baines reasoned that these areas would be also too difficult for the aliens to cross.
Once around the perimeter, they stopped at an outpost that was near the alien campsite where Arlene, Tilson, and Ed had made contact. The veeto craft stirred up a great amount of dust and Ed hoped they’d landed downwind of the troops who manned the post. Major Baines stepped down out of the aircraft first, followed by Ed. Six soldiers already stood at attention facing the airplane.
“As you were,” said the major. “All of you except the squad leader can go back to your posts.
All the soldiers except Sergeant Cissy Granger returned to their positions. “How is it going here, Sergeant?” asked Baines. “Have you seen any activity yet?”
“Yes sir. Just as you were arriving, some of the globes were moving around out there. I was just reporting back to headquarters when you came.”
“Hmm. Could you see what they were doing?”
“No sir. A line of globes just moves by every few minutes very slowly about three hundred meters away. Then they go back down that ravine and head away. Back to the alien camp, I suppose.”
“We’d better have a look down there,” said Baines. “Let’s check it out.”
Ed and Sergeant Granger followed the Major down to the ravine. “This is fairly deep,” said Baines. “It’s possible aliens could get by here without being seen. Get somebody down here with a comphone so they can watch the gully.”
Then they followed as Baines hiked down the ravine. A few hundred meters from the outpost, they saw the trails. Everywhere the alien rocket globes had gone, there was a thin charred trail in the desert sand. And then Ed saw the other trails. “You see what they’re doing here? Every trip they make by here is about ten meters closer to the post. They know we’re here, and they’re trying to see how close they can come before they get a response.”
“Then what should we do?” asked Granger.
“I’d say we give them a response,” said Baines. “The president has already said she wants us to contain the aliens right here until she’s ready for them to leave the area.”
“What exactly do you have in mind?” asked Ed.
“I’ll show you. Get a couple of your troops to unload that crate from the veeto.”
Sergeant Granger used her comphone to order two privates to bring the crate. The privates met them back at the post with the crate, and Major Baines snapped it open. Then the Major took out six laser pistols. “Distribute these to your squad.”
“But that won’t work,” said Ed. “Laser guns are effective against aliens, but the beams just reflect right off the globes. It’s more dangerous to our troops than to the aliens!”
Not these lasers!” said Baines. “Mr. Lane has made more progress than you know about! Infrared penetrates right inside. We have visible red added for aiming, but the ion trailer is gone. Ions can’t get through the globe material.”
As soon as a several squad members had been armed with the new weapons, four were stationed where they could watch the ravine. Ed and Major Baines returned to the post then, to confer again with Sergeant Granger.
Granger greeted them with a message. “The outpost just called. Globes are on the way again!”
Ed followed the best he could as Baines hurried back to the ravine outpost. Before he got there, he could see a young soldier animatedly reporting to the Major. Then Ed reached the post and he could see for himself. There was a line of globes approaching single file and very low in the ravine. The globes slowed, then stopped completely, with each hovering atop a pencil thin yellow flame. And then the globes came very fast.
“Fire!” yelled Baines. “Take them out!”
One soldier aimed his pistol until the red laser beam touched on a globe, and then pushed the infrared trigger. Nothing happened at first, but then the globe shot straight up for several hundred meters before careening wildly through the desert sky like a toy balloon, and crashing in a ball of flame a kilometer away. At first, the entire group gawked at the spectacle until Baines yelled, “Keep firing! They’re still coming! Keep them contained!”
At that command, all four soldiers started firing and Baines joined them. Within seconds, a dozen or more alien globes were spinning through the air, and then globes were crashing all around them. One globe landed so near the squad that the resulting explosion almost knocked them down, and another crashed perilously close to the veeto plane.
For a couple of minutes, no more globes appeared. “Do you think we’ve repelled them?” Ed asked of the major.
“I doubt it. They’ve probably only gone back to regroup.”
Baines’ assessment was prophetic. Another line of globes appeared suddenly in the ravine, and another line of globes came across the open desert a few hundred meters away.
“Fire!” yelled Baines. The soldiers began firing at the approaching globes, and took several out in the same spectacular fashion. But there were so many and they were going so fast that some got through. The soldiers turned and began firing at the alien vehicles that had crossed their line, and they destroyed a few more globes.
Ed was shaking. “Did we get all of them?”
“Don’t know,” said Baines. “I kind of doubt it, though. There were just too many of them.”
They waited a few more minutes until it seemed there would be no more alien advances. Then Major Baines ordered Sergeant Granger to double the watch and to be certain that all of her squad was armed with the new weapons. “Also, be danged sure you report to headquarters at the first sign of another advance!”
“How many of the new pistols do we have?” asked Ed.
“I have enough to leave some at all the major outposts. I also have some shoulder weapons with scope sights. Come on and let’s get them delivered.
Ed had to hustle to avoid being left behind as Baines hurried back to the veeto. The craft’s engines were already whirring and stirring dust when Ed clambered inside and pulled the door shut. Then pilot Searles had the plane in the air before Ed could get seated.
Searles took them on a wide sweep around that outpost but they saw no more live alien vehicles. From their altitude, the bright desert landscape they saw was spotted with huge black circles where the globes had crashed and exploded. Then Ed had pilot Searles take them to several of the major outposts where the new laser weapons were distributed. Major Baines instructed the squads at each stop to share the weapons with the nearest squads on either side.