by Mel Todd
~Skin them alive and never regret it for a minute. I guess they get to see humans at their worst.~
~And best. This is what we are, the ones willing to die for our family, our world. That’s the best of us, too.~ He countered, this time emotion in his tone.
Her gaze had followed the woman as she moved to the primary console Ash had used. Before she could start doing anything, McKenna spoke.
"Please explain to me exactly what you’re doing at each step."
Thelia glanced at her, the superior smirk back on her face. "Do you not trust me?"
"Not as far as I can throw you."
The cliché seemed to catch the alien off guard as she looked at McKenna. "Could you not throw me very far?"
"It's a saying. Means NO. Explain what you’re doing and how." McKenna moved over to stand next to the woman while JD hovered a bit behind them, but well within his arms’ reach if he needed to grab either of them.
They both paused as the portal snapped open and the others flowed into it, and it snapped closed again, though it still called to her. Thelia shuddered, the first true emotion McKenna had seen on her. "I may not believe the propaganda regarding the abominations, but the ability to control portals, to cross space like one might cross a path, strikes me as unnatural and wrong."
"Yet warping people’s forms and enslaving them doesn't?" McKenna asked dryly, not really expecting her to answer.
"I have no responsibility in that. It has been done that way for many reyans before even my life givers were birthed." Thelia shuddered, a delicate action that made McKenna think of one of her foster households and the romances the mom had been addicted to. The women in them were always delicate and fragile, and everything they did rippled with beauty.
This woman will run any social setting she is ever in. I hope the government is ready to deal with her, because I'm not stepping up for that responsibility.
"Though it matters not at this point." Thelia pointed at icons that McKenna interpreted as communications. "This is the communication station and should allow communication via all Kaylid with the trans-harmonic frequency for this ship."
"Are there different frequencies?" It hadn't occurred to her there were multiple, but if they were like radio channels that might make sense.
"Yes. Every ship has different ranges, and teams with different objectives operate on different frequencies. There should be a control room where the commands are entered and sent to the various groups. This is the general one that is only used for wide communication needs." Her arched brow and tone of voice made it clear she thought McKenna was an idiot, but McKenna didn't care.
"Good. Issue a recall order. If necessary, we can send shuttles down. Surrendering would probably just get them killed, but if we can get them back…" she broke off. There were more Kaylid down on the planet than could be brought up in shuttles. If she told them to drop their weapons, they'd just be killed. No matter that she would be making a choice that would kill beings that had little, if any, control over their actions.
Taking a deep breath, she sent a thought to Ash. ~Is it possible to have the returning Kaylid stay somewhere until we can figure out how to unprogram and reprogram them?~
To her relief his response was immediate. ~Yes. Near the hangar bays are large rooms created for organizing trips. Since you boarded there are no more being decanted to do the drops to the surface. Most of the Elentrin on the ship at this point are either hiding or you have killed them. There were not that many as most of the ship is automated, and what Kaylid stay awake are always controlled.~
~Like you were?~ She asked as she turned to Thelia.
~I might be an oddity,~ he admitted, and she was surprised to not hear pride or amusement, but distress in the words.
Later, this isn't something I have to worry about now.
"Have shuttles wait for them, tell them to return immediately and communicate if there are no shuttles available. I need you and Ash to coordinate getting them up and into their area where they’re dispatched."
~It is usually called a mobilization or muster area, but if you direct them to wait in the processing area, they should know where you are talking about.~ Ash provided her the information, though he still seemed off somehow.
~Why don't you come out here and discuss it with her. Would make it easier on all of us.~ McKenna felt like she was herding all the kids again, but this time way more lives depended on her.
~I suspect she would not take it well coming from me. After all, I have been known for a very long time as the perfect 'pet' Kaylid.~ Even in her mind she could hear the emphasis on pet. Sighing and deciding arguing would take time they didn't have, she redirected her attention on Thelia, who seemed to be waiting patiently.
Oh, this woman. She’s going to make stories about Loki seem crude and heavy-handed. Maybe I should be comparing her to Coyote? Anansi?
"Tell all Kaylid to return to the ship at once. They are to await further orders in mobilization areas. If they need a shuttle, they should signal for one. All captured Earthlings," she stumbled over the word, it felt odd to say.
~Perc?~
~Yes?~ He sounded distracted but responsive.
~Can you guys get a message to Doug or Geoff Sextan that we may have random Kaylid heading for the shuttles and if possible, to let them go without issue? If they don't have any prisoners with them, let them go.~
A tense minute of silence, and she had to resist poking him again when he replied. ~Done. Message is going out now, and they’ll pass it along to other governments that we’re in communication with. No guarantees, but they'll try.~
~Best I can ask for.~
"Do it, please." Manners, beaten into her from various foster homes prompted the please, and she regretted it from the quirk of lips. But Thelia slowly clicked on each icon, making sure McKenna saw what she was doing.
~Wefor, you're remembering all this, right?~ Her worry obvious, though she tried to keep it as private as possible.
[Yes, and verifying all translations. But if what Ash said is true, we will not be able to access it due to the biometric locks.] Wefor had been so quiet, even the disjointed reverberation in her head made her feel better.
~Might as well ask.~
Chapter 33 - Planned Downfall
With the Earth under attack, people are bonding together. We are seeing Israelis and Palestinians fighting side by side. The Hamas has been seen taking out invaders with suicide vests and even protecting children from known Jewish or Christian faith. All the homeless have disappeared from the streets of New York, San Francisco, and LA. Have they found safe places to go? Or have they been taken? No one knows, all we can say here at TNN is protect each other. We are all that stands between us and these aliens treating our planet as a cattle ranch. ~TNN News Anchor
It took two days, but one of Willard's video sermons went viral when a shifter attacked him while filming. Raymond leaned back and watched, a grin on his face, as Willard stood bloody while security took down the creature. If you looked closely you could see the sounds had to be fake. He moved too easily and the apparent wounds didn't gush as badly as they should have, but it made the point crystal clear and money flowed in. The reaction to it couldn't have been more perfect.
"I don't know if you hired someone, set it up, or what, but bravo Willard. You will have earned that favor."
Reposting the video helped and he sat back to watch the world have a collective meltdown.
Raymond had gone to bed, house locked up tight, and was sleeping the sleep of the just, when his phone yanked him out of dreams where he was in his rightful place. Resisting the urge to snarl into the phone, he answered.
"Yes?"
"Hey, thought you might want to know. Something's going on with them up at the ships. Everyone is running around down here like crazy. And they've been getting shifters off the ship in a stream of aliens. I mean we don't know if they’re all human or not. Some of them don't look like any animal I've ever heard of."
"Wai
t, they’re getting shifters off the ships? How?" Adrenaline had him sitting up in bed, heart pounding as he tried to think through the ramifications of this.
"Yeah, they brought in some weird lizard- like guy, with a tail and everything, and he made this shiny portal and they all walked into it and just disappeared. It's the creepiest thing I've ever seen. Then they started sending down all these shifters and, sir, I don't think all of them were from Earth. They had colors and skin textures in their weird warrior form that I couldn't recognize from any animal on earth. A few even had multiple arms."
By this time Raymond had gotten up and moved through the house quietly. No one turned on lights at night anymore. The atmosphere of fear resembled what he had read about during the bombing attacks in Europe during World War II.
Yet another reason to get all of them off this planet. This is America. We shouldn't be hiding in our houses like scared rabbits.
"Any of this on the news?" he asked as he sat down at his desk.
"Hell no. You think they want anyone knowing about this? They've had this all hush-hush since it started about two days ago. Can't remember, I've been working long days. This is the second night I think, but maybe the third. Frag I'm tired."
"Yeah, you're working hard, helping protect our country." Raymond fought to keep his tone soothing and coaxing. He wanted to reach through the phone and strangle the man to get the information out of him.
"Yes, our country, not these crazy animals. But like I said I thought you should know."
In the distance Raymond could hear shouting and moving. "Any chance you can get me pictures of what’s going on over there right now?" He needed those pics, with that he had a gold mine of information.
"Well, I don't have a camera on me." Higson sounded doubtful and Raymond had to again keep his voice calm and not allow it to show how much he wanted to kill this man right now.
"Oh, sorry. I thought you were calling me from a smartphone," he said, as if regretful, making sure to add a touch of doubt.
"Oh wait! Duh, yeah let me get what I can, I can be sneaky."
"That’s wonderful. Some video would be awesome too."
"Sure, just remember how I helped you out," Higson said, and Raymond fought back a sigh; instead he stroked the man's ego.
"When it comes time to tell the stories I’ll make sure to give you the credit you deserve for helping us protect our species. Just send it to this number."
"Will do. Give me a bit, I’ll have to be subtle. Later." With that Higson hung up and Raymond groaned.
"That man couldn't be subtle if his life depended on it." He pulled up the various news sites, but there was nothing about a military amassing anywhere. He tried a few of the more esoteric news areas but the closest he got was some chatter on a social media feed about the weird flying patterns some of the ships up there were doing.
He got so into the research black hole the ding of his phone startled him. Picking it up there were several pictures coming through. Wasting no time, he connected to his computer and uploaded the images. Waiting impatiently for them to sync he headed to the kitchen, figuring some coffee would be good. He needed to be sharp to craft the appropriate messages for the various social media formats. With luck some of the pictures would be good enough to post on the image-heavy apps and preset the conclusions he wanted people to make in the right way.
By the time he got back to the desk everything had uploaded. He pulled up the first picture and froze, stunned by what he saw. Hand shaking to the point coffee was spilling, he set down his coffee cup, ignoring the slosh onto his pristine redwood desk, lost in what he saw on the screen.
As each picture loaded, his smile grew wider and ideas burst through his mind at how to use what he saw. When he saw the video, he started to cackle in glee.
It started with a stutter, then smoothed and resolved into a silvery disk hanging in mid-air about six inches off the ground. Military personnel surrounded it as a steady stream of beings came out. Most were in that odd warrior form, but some were in human form, or more accurate humanoid, because there were a few he knew weren't from this planet. More and more streamed out as the video played, with people coming up and grabbing them and hustling them off. Shouting orders could be heard in the background and people exclaimed in loud tones. The running around became more apparent. The picture panned for a minute and he saw tents and dozens if not hundreds of people sitting with blankets draped over them and people trying to talk to them.
But what interested him most was the panned-past images of the non-human being taken to a large tent with flaps that dropped closed as soon as you passed through.
The video caught sight of two familiar figures before it abruptly ended.
Raymond already had ideas on how to use most of those snapshots. The furor he could and would cause, and the way he could spin the images would give him fuel for weeks. He got to work, making sure to send one or two carefully snipped frames from the video to Willard, he'd be able to get a lot of traction from those in his televised and recorded appearances.
The silver disk needed to be addressed, as did so many other things. Was this alien technology something they could gain control of? He needed to know the full extent of it. Either way the implications of that were concerning and something he'd be asking questions about, getting Higson to get more information for him. Any lizard aliens needed to be followed up on, assuming what Higson thought was the truth.
But the question that ate at him as he worked, spinning words to start a firestorm, was—What the hell were Geoff Sextan and Secretary of State Doug Burby doing there?
Chapter 34 - Hail Mary
Not only do we have to worry about the Elentrin goon squads assaulting us and killing our families to get what they want, but now those originally from earth are attacking our leaders of the light, those that helps us keep our faith. If we can't trust those from this planet, why not let the Elentrin take them. Good riddance to bad rubbish. ~Caller on Harvey Klein show
"Is there a way for us to do this? Maybe duplicate it on other ships?" McKenna asked, watching Thelia carefully.
I don't trust you, but I need you, and that just might drive me crazy.
The woman shrugged. "That is dependent upon each ship. The message functionality for the control systems is queued up. Press that button there and it will record a message to send to all Kaylid on this planet." She pointed to an icon. Each time she'd touched something there had been a subtle change in color or intensity, but when McKenna reached out with her furred hands, it didn't respond at all. "I would make the assumption that the ultimate answer is no, at least for this ship or group of ships." Thelia's voice gave no hint at all to her thoughts. "Are you ready to record?"
"How does it get to everyone across the planet?" Toni asked.
Thelia didn't bother to even glance at her, but she did answer. "Trans-harmonics will hit each Kaylid and leverage the nanobots in their bodies to jump to the next Kaylid. By doing this, while there may be a delay for those on the opposite side of the planet, the dispersion is such that the curvature of a planet is not a hindrance to sending messages as long as the density of Kaylid is enough."
"That actually makes sense." Toni frowned as she thought about it, nodding her agreement. "Maybe not important now, but later it might be."
Thelia still watched McKenna. When no one else spoke she said again, a note of barely restrained patience in her voice. "If you are ready, I will activate the record option."
"Wait, let me try one more thing." The Elentrin seemed to be very blind in some aspects and she had a stray thought that she might be able to use that blindness. McKenna concentrated on her finger. While she'd learned to control the nanobots without much effort for her ears, anything else she had to concentrate to get them to do what she visualized. It took a minute, but the fur on her index finger slowly receded and her finger emerged with the nail and her normal skin. "Huh, should have tried this earlier. It would have made shooting the guns easier." She pressed t
he button and it changed to a green arrow.
Thelia waved at her, an eyebrow arched, though McKenna wasn't sure if it was surprise, approval, or something else she didn't have a name for. She scrambled to come up with what to say, her mind racing.
"All Kaylid, cease harvesting efforts and return to shuttles. Withdrawal orders have been issued. If a shuttle is not near you, signal and wait for one to pick you up. Leave all captured Kaylid in a safe place. Repeat, return immediately to the shuttles and await retrieval."
McKenna glanced at Thelia who nodded meaningfully at the button and McKenna clicked it again. It changed back to the original icon, something with a circle in a circle.
"Not exactly how the commands I have heard have been worded. But it should suffice," Thelia remarked as she stepped back, her hands clasped at her waist. "What else would you ask of me?"
"Have all the HALO drops ceased?" Thelia frowned looking at her and McKenna rephrased her question. "Have the Kaylid being sent to the planet stopped?"
"I would not know. Besides, while this is the lead ship, each captain has the ability to send or not send their own troops. While that method did not go to the Elentrin on the other ships, word will probably reach their crew relatively quickly." Not arrogance or smugness, but something else filled her voice, something that rubbed McKenna the wrong way.
McKenna ignored her and raised her voice, since the door was still open between where Toni, Ash, and the remaining Elentrin were. She hadn't forgotten that one, but at this point didn't know what to do with their prisoner.
"Ash, can you see if shuttles are being recalled? And tell me if any more drops are going on?" She waited, her ears straining to hear the second he started to speak, her body wound so tight she felt like the only options were explode or fall apart.
This had to have worked. If it didn't, we'll never stop the flow of people being captured.
Her thoughts went in frantic circles trying to think of other things to do, but the more she fretted, the less she could think.