by Marcus Sloss
“Great. Thanks for the information, Willow,” I said and kissed her cheek. She liked this peck. Perci playfully bounced her eyebrows. “Specialist Slister fantastic timing. Welcome back. For the crew.”
“For the crew. This is my husband, Norm,” Slister said and I shook hands with Norm. He was a super buff handsome man. The kind you saw on romance novel covers. I bet the students loved him. I did not see a mutual attraction here, but again, who was I to judge? “Norm teaches agriculture but has his degree in seed engineering. Our auto taxi kicked us out, and Lavaun was right behind us. I take it we’re loading up in here?”
“Yeah, squeeze in. Stick those duffels in the side storage first please,” I said and the duo went back to do exactly that. I raised my voice so they could hear me outside and said, “We have Dedric, Lavaun, and a local sheriff coming. Going to take him home. Trying to recruit, instead of killing the local lawmen. Hopefully it helps.”
Jevon grunted from the doorway and said, “It is a risk, Cap. We could be fine without them. We have almost a full squad of trained and a full squad plus untrained.”
“XO, we need help and it is the right thing to do. These are fellow Americans. If we get burned, we lock the gates, snipe the enemy, and live as a family in our stronghold.”
“Not going full pirate yet? I like the idea,” Slister said, and Torrez muttered an agreement. “I am not saying I regret our actions in Saudi, but some haunt me.”
“Hey you two, don’t team up on me. The Cap is right on this one. However, it is my job to give him other opinions. We heard it, we give the Chief his chance,” Jevon said defensively. Fresh headlights came up the hill. “Perfect, here come Dedric and Lavaun. Damn, Dedric brought a minivan full of people. They are being waved up and told to stay in the vehicle. We are out of room. Lavaun is solo and needs a ride.”
Dedric was an older black man who was my second platoon sergeant. He was one of the dozen or so that randomly got placed into an ex-con unit. He was an avid Christian and disapproved of about ninety percent of my moral decision making. He frequently prayed for my soul and was the reason we had a pirate prayer. Militarily, he was a crack shot under pressure who instantly followed my orders. He never openly regretted or countermanded my unlawful orders. Merely sought forgiveness in his quest to return to his family. The van pulled forward to join the convoy.
Lavaun was a blonde haired, blue eyed babe with her plump curves, confident smile, and gorgeous features. The kind of girl who taunted the boys and probably should be sleeping with Slister’s husband. So, imagine my surprise when Lavaun walked into the RV and said, “Norm, good to see you sexy. I am ready for my lesson in seed implantation.”
She always was very forward, but I thought she was a lesbian who teased men only. She slept with Slister the entire time in Saudi Arabia. The man waved her down in a panic. Slister and Lavaun burst out laughing due to some inside joke. They were as close as sisters and I finally made the connection.
“The Cap is in a throuple, Maria spilled the beans… Not making a Mexican joke, girl. Anyway, I told you to stop being such a tight ass, Norm,” Slister said, hugging Lavaun. “The crew is family. They will not judge that we sleep three to a bed.”
Norm rubbed his palms against his pants anxiously. I shrugged while he awkwardly smiled.
“Wait, you and your wife are finally together. Awesome, good for you, Cap. Oh. Shit. Permission to come aboard, sir,” Lavaun asked with a brimming smile and mock salute.
“First to ask, granted. Here comes our guest of honor. Civilians, load up in these other vehicles, start the convoy, and roll out. I am not talking on the side of the road with this guy. Perci, get one last message out before we go dark. Becca, lead the way to FOB Mansion. We’re going radio silent,” I said, and the RV hummed to life.
My orders were put into motion as the trail of cars, vans, and trucks with trailers followed in our wake. At the very end, we even had a police escort. The trip to the edge of the Gnet range had proven very fruitful. I was not excited to tackle the mountain of work on top of the mountain. At least with the nearest crew arriving, we could get day and night cycles going. It was only a matter of time before we had to deal with our very own Xgate.
CHAPTER 9
“Perci, why the blazes is it snowing?” I asked as we drove down the long dirt road. The RV was pushing through snow it rattled along. When we entered the clearing, I saw the falling snow melting into the grass. The large flakes abruptly turned off as if someone flipped a switch and, instinctively, I leaned forward to crane my neck skyward. Outside the window, I saw a bunch of clouds and no alien spaceship.
“It used to snow here in early spring. Global warming has changed the season. I downloaded all the files, if you could give me a minute…” Perci said, rapidly punching her finger to her Gpad.
“This is Pirate Six, park next to the mansion,” I said into the radio.
“Damn, I need to become a mercenary,” Norm said, ducking to get a good view of the massive building.
“Pirate, not a mercenary. We stole the house. Literally stole the mansion with digital signatures. It helps to be the heiress of darkness.” Perci cackled at her statement that made no sense to anyone besides her. She noticed confused glances and said, “Oh, I may have used my heiress status to advocate for one certain Captain Moostache. You were getting a lot of negative feedback as well as positive. The day after I go on this long spiel about how it's a comedic skit that no one should take seriously... Well, you marched some people off a thirty-foot plank in the next video. When they screamed in torment from not dying, you drove away. Ergo, heiress of darkness. Mom gave me shit for a week about how you were a bad influence. Her people start adding hooks into your videos to give enough evidence people thought it was all doctored. You were caused -”
“Um, Cap. Sergeant Morrison, the S1 shadow you had that we called your deployment wifey is not Sergeant Morrison, is she?” Specialist Slister asked. To counter her forward question, she launched into platitudes. “You look fantastic, btw. Your hair looks great, you fixed your eye, and it is like you are glowing with happiness.”
“Oh, shit, I guess we missed that part. Last thing we need is the wrong people finding out my real identity because we use Perci and these lines of questions come out later. I am Persephone Yang, formerly Persephone Growlen, who served during the war under the false last name Morrison. As in Gcorp CEO Linda Growlen’s daughter. I will alert the other crew to not mention this in front of family and to call me Perci or LT.”
I reached back to grab her wrist. Perci was quick enough to dodge my attempt.
“In my lap, Persephone,” I said with a growl.
“Eek,” Perci said, racing into my lap. She was so small we managed to fit in the bucket seat doubled up without an issue. “What did I do?”
“Tell me why it is snowing,” I ordered.
“Short answer, there is no conclusive data. Long answer is that the eighteen thousand plus Xgates could have opened enough of our atmosphere to let in cool space air. If that is the case, the scientists predict a quick recovery to our global warming standards. That is not the winning argument. The most supported theory is the mother ship fixed our global warming crisis with the push of a button. The how or validity to that statement has yet to be proven. With both options there could be long term impacts, but nothing as grand as alien portals suddenly covering the globe.”
“See, not so hard. If others distract you, ignore them until my orders are complete. And Perci, we are not married. Yet. That is not a proposal. Just use a different last name until we are,” I said.
Perci pouted, opened her mouth to complain, and closed it. When she was about to leave my lap, I wrapped a fist around her neck with slight pressure. Her eyes bulged in surprise and then delight. She kissed me deeply with a loud lip-smack as our kiss broke. Perci leaned into my ear.
“I have waited a long time for moments like these. Even longer to feel that girthy cock of yours inside me. Promise we can work it in
later,” Perci whispered before leaping off my lap before I could respond.
I fumed because I was going to promise her, but she was out the parked RV with giggling joy. The caravan had stopped as close to the mansion as possible. People were flooding out of vehicles with supplies, eager to escape the cold for the warm mansion. The only car not parked yet was the state trooper vehicle. I waved him over to the barn, with Jevon at my side.
“Orders,” Jevon said with a shiver. The man hated the cold. Which was why he moved to Arizona when we got out. We had talked of seeing each other after getting out but never did. I patted him on the back, realizing how much I had missed him. “What? You got that goofy ass face of yours on.”
“I missed you, and I appreciate you being here in the snow,” I said, laughing at him shivering. “What was your family update?”
“Mom should be at the auto taxi turnaround line in an hour or so. I will set up an RV rotation. Hopefully things stay civil at the drop-off point. My brother’s report was he left L.A. before the news declared aliens arrived. Noon was his ETA, dependent on clear roads and limited pee breaks. He has three kids and a bossy wife, so...”
“With the chaos, who knows? Good idea on setting up a pick-up rotation. Oh, add this location to the pickup point.” I sent him the location with the gate code to our new house. “Give some of Dedric’s family a purpose. Sorry I never visited Jevon.” I grimaced as I said it.
“I hit the bottle when we got home. I would work twelve hours, if not more, picking up shifts when able. Anything to keep my mind numb. After, I would go home and get drunk. My excuse was seeing you would hurt. I was wrong,” Jevon said and gave me a pat on the back to go with a manly hug. A slap to my shoulder was accompanied by a nod. “I missed you too, brother. Now, enough emotional stuff. Besides a bus rotation, what are your orders?”
“Six hours rest,” I said and he raised an eyebrow. I knew he was about to object. “Yes, I am certain. If people can’t sleep, so be it. This may be the only time people get to sleep in the coming days. A key lesson from Saudi was that zombie troops are not ideal.”
“I know, I know. I slept while the truck drove itself. Glad I got the manual steering package. Two years of back pay is sitting in that truck,” Jevon said, pointing at his steel alloyed truck with off-road tires and solar roof. “Sleep is smart. Won’t argue that fact. We need a perimeter, though.”
“Start laying out hesco barriers. I think we’re going to need to turn the barn into housing too. The whole unit is coming with family and kids. That means at least hundreds, if not thousands, of people when it is said and done. Dig into the tents or create a report for how we can incorporate them into the head of the buildings. Or we can set up the tents to put the supplies in to make room in the barn. The supplies can be covered in the cold.” I started rubbing my temples under my helmet. “You are capable. We need a plan and I may change a lot once we have more information in the morning. Thick earth fortification is going to be needed no matter what. Maybe… No, definitely a wider perimeter. The roof perch should still have a line of sight a few hundred feet out.”
Jevon tuned to face the roof. He ran a hand down to angle the perch to the earth. “Okay, I will redesign the layout and tell people to get some sleep. If the barn becomes a living structure… that means it needs to be inside our fortifications. We can probably—”
Perci interrupted and said, “Want me in the meeting?”
“You‘re our personnel and supply officer all in one. Yes, Jevon can handle getting everyone settled and planning out some new options based on inventory numbers. Pass him your files,” I said, and Jevon tapped his Gpad to Perci’s. Willow darted over to kiss my cheek. I smiled, pulling her in for a deep kiss. “Where you off to, lovely lady?”
“I was going to sleep, unless you want me with you?” Willow said.
“I haven’t had time to tell you my full plans for you yet, Willow. I want to train you to be a soldier. We, Perci and I, will need your help. That includes managing tasks, attending meetings, and counting supplies with us. Go tell your friends goodnight and then meet us in the barn. Manager’s office. I think you know the one!” I said with a smirk.
Willow blushed and said, “I happen to know exactly where it is. So you’re grooming me to be an officer?”
“For combat, hell no. No offense. Maybe for logistics and supplies. I have like thirty amazing troops ready for promotions…”
“I will start talking to the sergeants about what they want to do with new rank structures. Alright, I got what I need. Have fun with your meeting,” Jevon said with a wave over his shoulder as he ran for the mansion.
“Few things, Willow,” I said, shivering slightly from the cold. “We are a team, and I am not talking about ‘for the crew’. You, Perci, and I are a team. So, I need you in the know. The more information you have, the more you can learn. Unfortunately, that means less sleep.”
Willow smiled before clutching me with an embrace. I saw Tina and Derek—or was it Denis?—waiting for her outside the mansion. She waved for them to go on. My left arm went over her shoulder while Perci greeted the chief, who was approaching cautiously. The man eased when he saw friendly faces with no signs of aggression. We briskly walked for the barn to escape the cold. Perci rapidly punched in the barn door’s code. The device gave a beep before the doors automatically slid open.
“Yes! Whoever had the foresight to heat this place is amazing,” I blurted upon the warm entry.
Once inside, the doors slid closed with a tap on Perci’s Gpad. I turned to the state trooper. He wore a cowboy hat that was faded with time. A dull gold star was placed over his heart on his winter jacket. A revolver that was clearly not standard issue hung on his left hip. The man had a grim look behind his dark eyes.
“Not going to ask me to disarm?”
“Wouldn’t get very far if you did something dumb. You do not seem dumb. I am Eric Yang, this is Perci, and this is Willow Hanks. They help me run this crew,” I said, indicating which lovely lady was which to the officer.
“Eddy, Eddy Smarts. I see a year of food out here for the folk you brought in. Hell, you have off-grid power, and a lot of it. Then there are guns—did you buy the Pew-Pew Emporium?”
The laughter from Perci paused him. She gave an odd cackling with an exaggerated sigh.
“Yeah, as much as a big rig and trailer could haul. Sorry, Cap. I didn’t sleep much last night,” Perci said.
“Exactly why I wanted to let everyone sleep tonight. What is the timer on the local Xgate arrival?”
“Seventeen hours.”
“Eddy, we, well this area, is going to get visited by aliens in less than a day. Here. Not on a view screen in some distance place. Right here about an hour south in the mountains. Before the coming storm arrives, and to weather it once it gets here, we can ally, trade, or become friends,” I said and my tone turned stern while I clenched my jaw. “Or your boys can draw on me. Not looking for an apology, and I will give one, only because I have never been able to say this before to a living soul. I am sorry I had to shoot them. Normally I leave bodies in my wake. Onto business, your overweight paramedic mentioned you were low on guns.”
“Paris, yeah. She was told to say that. We are actually sitting really pretty on weapons. You would be surprised how many super liberals handed in weapons for the latest Hansen buyback. I just didn’t want to have to write the boys up for lost weapons,” Eddy chuckled and then stopped. “Funny how, when the end of the world arrives, and us desk cops are worried about paperwork. As you can imagine, most of us get sent here on assignment. Not exactly the area you can afford to keep your family close to. Which leaves most of my twelve officers, ten effective crew, in a bind.”
“We are expecting, what? Two hundred more?” I asked Perci.
“When you add in the extended family, it will be closer to a thousand is my guess. A thousand trying to get here. No offense, Cap, but you and I are pariahs. You brought one and I brought none. Dedric brought fourteen
. Fourteen awesome people, but still, fourteen,” Perci said, and I held up a hand to pause her.
“Well, you can have the men and women come by. Blare the horn two rapid times every few minutes on your way up the road. There is clean water here, steep slopes, and lots of room to expand. Best of all, we have solar panels in storage and hydro generators,” I said with part dismissal.
“Before I go, how would we integrate into the rank structure?” Eddy asked with a twisted jaw firm in determination. “That will be a big sticking point. The internal politics of who gets to order whom around is still prevalent in the police force.”
“Run your own unit. You get LT status with two sergeants. However, we are no ordinary military unit. The only reason I can offer you that is my troops are very, very unique. If or when we combine, do not be surprised if you’re treated like a logistics officer. They will countermand a stupid order in a heartbeat. But if you want someone to empty a trailer or to load up an ATV for a mission, well, they will heed that order no problem.”
“I run my crew, you’re the boss, and we get in where we fit in. Look, Mr. Yang. The local state trooper office does not have the manpower or firepower to weather a walking bear army. You have electric weapons here, anti-tank missiles, explosives, and fifty cals. We would rather not die by our lonesome,” Eddy said, folding his arms in frustration. “You have one entry point unless the aliens can scale cliffs or are all wearing those jetpack things. This valley is very defensible compared to our little wide open station.
“At the same time, I bet that mansion will be full as well as those side homes. You are right about being able to expand, but with what and how? Regardless, expect the boys and girls to come out in the morning to say hi. I think we all need a hard lesson in the fact that the end of the world is not some cozy adventure. Mansion sure is nice perk, though. One of the best I have seen.”
