by Wilson Harp
Captain Golding shook his head. “I can’t imagine what that would have been like. To be faced with a foe you didn’t understand. With technology you couldn’t comprehend. It must have been terrifying.”
“I expect they said the same thing about us,” K-man said. “And I intend to keep them in awe of us. Greenaway, I want you to use those computer skills to narrow down our search area. Figure out where they would have gone. Don’t think like a human, though, study everything about the Otina and try to think like them.”
Greenaway nodded and pulled up his tablet. K-man suspected that he already had some ideas on where to begin.
“Sergeant Lippor, you are to coordinate with command and make sure that we are given every stray bit of intercepted communication originating from Otina sources. Ramirez has an undying drive to escape from capture. He did it several times in the Indian war. If he can’t get away, he will at least try to get us a message to help us rescue him.”
K-man turned to Captain Golding. “With Ramirez’s reputation of escape in mind, Captain, I want you to figure out how he will do it. I want you to examine every bit of data and recreate whatever you have to from the Otina bases we have captured to try to give us an inside idea on what he is facing.”
Golding nodded as he made some notes on his tablet.
“That’s all for now, gentlemen. You have your five days of liberty, but since you all seemed so anxious to figure out our assignment before I was ready to reveal it, I expect to see some progress before we ship out. Dismissed.”
The three men rose and filed out of K-man’s office. He watched the door shut and let out a sigh. Ramirez was a major security risk. They had to get him out before the Otina forced information from him.
Chapter 8
Alex tapped the small metal plate with his finger. Adams was listening for the taps at the far end of the corridor. Alex watched for a few more minutes before his now daily backwards crawl through the narrow tunnel.
“How long was that?” Alex asked as he was pulled back up the chute.
“Forty-eight minutes, both times,” Adams replied.
Alex caught his breath and nodded. “We have a good pattern of their patrols, then. Next time, I’ll leave the storage room and recon the area. I think I can make it back to the holding area. If I can figure out how to lower the force field, we can get out and move around.”
“You still think they only have eight guards?” asked Curtis.
“Eight, maybe ten,” Alex replied. “If there are more than that, they must not come near the holding area or the supply room.”
“If we can get out, do you think we can overpower them and take over the base,” Adams asked.
“Too risky,” Curtis said. “If there are more of them or if the base is bigger than we think, we may be in a worse position if we strike too soon. I think Gunny is right, we need to do more recon first.”
Alex nodded as he pulled his shirt back on. He would love to have a shower. Or a sip of water. Even a bite of food. It had been nine days since he had woken in this prison, and while he felt hungry and thirsty, he didn’t feel any weaker than the day he arrived. His bruises and other minor injuries from the attack on his ship were all healed, as well.
“I’ll go back down next cycle and see if I can map the hallway. We can get Hu to go with me. He needs to get practice making that crawl in case something happens to me,” Alex said.
Curtis nodded as he and Adams moved the bed back into position over the opening. “I agree. This is our best shot at escaping. I don’t want to risk you unnecessarily, Gunny, but if something were to happen, Hu is the only other one of us with a small enough bone structure to get through safely.”
The men left the bedroom where the access tunnel was and joined the others in the common room of the holding area.
Alex saw Manny talking with the two Pelod prisoners and walked over to them.
“How are you feeling today?” Alex asked Davison, the Earth name of one of the Pelod.
“Weaker still, Alex. Nothing in particular is wrong, but I feel weaker.”
Alex nodded. “And you, Levin?”
“The same. I keep hoping it is just in my mind, but I grow weaker each day.”
Alex frowned. “You said that the Otina had never taken Pelod prisoners before. Whatever nutrient mix they are pumping into these rooms probably hasn’t been calibrated for a Pelod’s need yet. Maybe they will have it fixed soon.”
Levin gave the marine a tight smile. “I hope you are correct, Alex. I’m sorry we can’t be of more use to you.”
Levin was referring to the fact that both of the Pelod were thin enough to make the narrow crawl along the access tunnel.
“You gave us some important technical information, so you are of use to us. When we have more questions about whatever we find, I’m sure your knowledge will be instrumental in getting us out of here.”
“You really believe we can escape, don’t you?” Davison asked.
“No doubt about it, Davison. We will escape, all of us.” Alex patted the Pelod on the shoulder and motioned for Manny to follow him.
“What is it Alex?” the Iltia’cor asked.
“How bad are they? I know they are weaker, but how bad is it?”
“It seems pretty bad, but I don’t have medical training and these are the first Pelod I have met.”
“Okay. Just keep an eye on them. When I go out and recon, I will see if I can find anyway to look out at the sky. If I do, could you tell where we are if I could draw you a star field?” Alex asked.
Manny was an astrophysicist with an interest in xenobiology. He had originally been assigned to Earth to teach some of the human astrophysicists the techniques that the Iltia’cor used for determining interstellar energy flow. Alex had sat in on several of Manny’s lectures, but he was mostly playing games on his tablet as the theories were way over his head. He had heard Manny say that most Iltia’cor astrophysicists could approximate where they were in the galaxy by just looking at the stars for a couple of hours.
“It would have to be a very detailed drawing, Alex. It would be better if I could look at the stars myself.”
“I’ll see what we can do. If we can figure out where we are, we have a better chance at making our escape and reconnecting with Earth Force.”
“I trust you, Alex. But I wonder why they haven’t questioned any of us. Why are they just keeping us in here? Do they think they can break us just by letting us panic at being forgotten?”
Alex shrugged. “I’m not sure. Don’t really have a good read on why the Otina do anything. The few things I do know about them doesn’t correlate to the way we are being held. I would have expected we would be held in suspended animation tubes. That’s how we have found other prisoners. To leave us out like this? That makes no sense. It lets us plan and work together. Of course, that could be what they want us to do.”
“What do you mean?”
“I can’t help but think that this is a bit too easy. We have a way out. There isn’t much security wandering around. They aren’t torturing or even asking us questions. What if we are the test group to see how humans work together? If we escape, would they see where their design for holding humans went wrong and just design a better system?”
Manny frowned. “You have thought a lot about this, Alex. I don’t know. If they are testing you humans, why do you let them see you at your best?”
“They may not be testing us. If they aren’t, then we shouldn’t let this opportunity pass.”
“And if they are?”
“Then we break their test. We make it seem like this was a walk in the park and let them worry about what we are capable of.”
Manny shook his head. “Humans are so scary.”
“What? Why would humans be so scary?”
“On Iltia, it would take days and weeks to make a decision like this. All of the options would have to be presented, debated and thought through. Captain Curtis showed you the passage way and you stripped off
your shirt and crawled in. He even told you that you could get stuck in there and they would have no way to bring you out, and you didn’t hesitate.”
“That is just part of leadership, Manny. Your military I’m sure had Iltia’cor like that.”
“No, I don’t think so. Not like that. There were brave warriors and leaders who would make decisions that affected thousands and millions of others, but I think you humans call it snap decision making. You are able to gather thousands of bits of small data and within seconds make a decision. The scary part is how often you are correct in your decision. An Iltia might make the same decision eventually, but the speed at which humans make those choices is frightening.”
“It’s intuition, Manny,” Alex said.
“Yes, I have read about that, but to watch it in action is something else.”
“Gunny, do you have a second?” Sergeant Hopkins said as he walked over to where Alex and Manny were talking.
“I think I have nothing except time right now, Hopkins. What’s up?” Alex asked.
“I’ll leave you two alone,” Manny said as he started to walk away.
“Manny, stay if you would. Maybe you will have some insight on this,” Hopkins said. “So I was looking at Davison and Levin a little earlier. They have both been in human form for over two years and they say that it is more comfortable to stay in a form rather than change form, right?”
“Yeah. So what about it?” Alex asked.
“Well, when we get out of the immediate holding area, what if they were to take on the form of Otina? That might give us an advantage.”
Alex nodded. “That’s a good idea.”
“No,” Manny said. “Won’t work. The Otina are only about half the mass of a human. Same reason the Pelod can’t take the form of an Iltia’cor. Well, maybe an Iltia’cor child. But they have to stay the same mass when they morph.”
“Well, there goes that idea,” Hopkins said.
“It was a good idea,” Alex said. “I just wonder if they would even be strong enough to be able to morph if it would have worked.”
Alex glanced over at the Pelod. Then he focused on them.
“What is it, Gunny?” Hopkins asked.
“The Pelod are pretty good mimics, but there is something peculiar about the way they look,” Alex said.
“Yeah, once we knew they were on Earth, it was pretty easy to pick them out.”
“But we should have been able to see it before. It’s like when people would say that all Africans look the same or all Asians look the same. That’s bull and you know it.”
“Yeah, even when we started recognizing them as aliens, we could tell that not all Iltia’cor or Hedali look the same. Even though they all look similar.”
“That’s right, Hopkins,” Alex said. “There is a similarity, or in the case of Pelod and Humans a difference. But the Otina all look the same. I mean identical.”
Manny laughed. “You don’t know, Alex?”
“Know what, Manny?” Alex and Hopkins both turned back to the Iltia’cor.
“The Otina are clones as far as we can tell,” Manny said. “I am surprised that you didn’t know that.”
“I know why they have taken us,” Hopkins said. “They are wanting to take our DNA and improve themselves!”
Alex and Manny both looked at Sergeant Hopkins with confused looks.
“I don’t think that can happen, Hopkins. The Otina that we have examined don’t have the same DNA structure as we do.”
Hopkins relaxed at that news. “Well that’s good.”
“But the fact that they are clones is news, I would have thought that our scientists would have figured that out pretty quick.”
“They are clones, but they aren’t all identical,” Manny said. “There are hundreds of lines of them and they make adjustments fairly frequently from what we know.”
“But why?” Hopkins asked.
“I don’t know, but it has been that way since we ran into them.”
“How long have you known the Otina?”
“They were the first race we met. The moved into the Iltia system and kidnapped us until we drove them out.”
“How long ago was that, Manny?” Alex asked.
“Over eleven hundred years ago,” Manny said. “It took us close to one hundred and fifty years before we drove them out of the system.”
Alex nodded. “This is information we could use in Earth command. When we get out of here, I’ll have Kitch coordinate with your historians to see how you did it.”
“Oh, we didn’t really do anything, Alex. We fought against them and they kept finding ways to cause problems. Then one day, they just left.”
“Just left? No major battle or weapon system that you brought against them?”
“No, they just left. We found hundreds of bases throughout the system when they disappeared. Many of them held the technology we used to settle other planets and develop interstellar engines,” Manny said.
“That’s why they attacked the signing,” Alex said. “It wasn’t just a random attack against the Hedali, it was to stop the Hedali from making contact with us.”
“Why would they want to do that?” Hopkins asked.
“I don’t know,” Alex said. “But I think the Otina were doing something in our system that was important to them and they were interrupted by us meeting the Hedali and the Pelod.”
“And then by the Iltia war,” Manny added.
“Yes, then by the war.” Alex tried to piece the puzzle together, but there were too many parts missing.
“Gunny,” Adams said as he came over to the small group. “It’s time if you want to try some recon.”
Alex followed the young Australian to the room with the access tunnel. Hu was already there and looking anxious.
“Don’t worry, Hu. If all goes well, we will be walking back in the front door,” Alex said as he pulled off his shirt.
Hu smiled as he followed Alex’s example and shed his shirt, shoes and pants. Alex nodded to him and then lowered himself head first into the access tunnel.
Alex was already several feet along the horizontal part of the tunnel when he heard Hu panting behind him. He was worried that Hu might be claustrophobic, but it was a chance they all had to take. Alex reached the end of the crawl space and worked his way to standing. A few steps and pulls later, he was able to push free the panel that led into the storage room. He pulled himself into the room and looked back down at Hu. The Chinese soldier was pulling himself upright. Alex lowered a hand and Hu took it. When Hu reached the storage room, he looked a little shaken, but he wasn’t completely freaked out.
“How many times have you done that, Ramirez?” Hu asked.
“Eighteen,” Alex answered. “It gets easier once you realize you can get out.”
Alex went to the door and listened. Soon he could hear the footsteps of the Otina patrol and motioned Hu to remain still. After a long count to twenty, he signaled Hu to approach the door with him.
“I am going to leave the room and see what I can discover. If you hear any disturbance, get back in the tunnel and work your way back to the others. Don’t worry about replacing the panel, they will be looking for how I got out anyway,” Ramirez told the Chinese soldier.
Hu nodded and Alex turned to the door. He knew it would make a slight sound, but Alex was hoping there would be no Otina close enough to hear.
He pushed the button and the door slid open. Alex stuck his head out and looked in both directions. The door opened into a hallway. To the right, the hallway turned to the left about five meters feet away. To the left, the hallway turned about twelve meters away to the left. Alex decided to go to the left, hoping that the hallway would work its way back to the holding area. This was also the way the patrol was heading, so unless they doubled back on him, he could make sure he didn’t come upon them too quickly.
His bare feet made no noise as he walked down the hallway. He looked for doors, viewports, cameras or data panels. There were none. J
ust the odd glowing wall panels that made up most Otina bases that he had seen.
Alex made it to the turn in the hallway and looked around the corner. About ten feet further, the corridor came to a T-junction. Alex moved carefully down the passage and looked in both directions. The passage to the right led to a doorway. Beyond it, Alex could hear several Otina speaking.
The left branch went about twenty feet before widening to about twelve feet across. A doorway on the left wall made him hopeful.
He slipped down to the doorway and found an access panel. A forcefield was lowered across the entryway for the door. The Pelod had described the panel and had given Alex and the other humans the codes to bypass any security. Alex punched in the combination of symbols and pressed the blue button. The forcefield shut down. He pressed the green button and the door slid open. He jumped through and looked at the stunned men on the other side.
“Captain Curtis,” Alex announced. “We can escape.”
Chapter 9
“Nine minutes and twelve seconds,” Adams said. “That leaves us thirty eight minutes and forty eight seconds before the patrols will come around again.
“More than enough time,” Curtis said. “We need to figure out where their hangar is and what kind of ships they have on the base.”
It had been two days since Alex had made his first recon trip. He had verified that the patrols did not pass the holding room door and the majority of the Otina were stationed in a nearby room. The hallway that ran past the front of the holding room turned back to the right and Alex believed it might be a second door to that same room that most of the Otina were in.
He believed it might have been their barracks. He was pretty sure that their hangar was just beyond that room.
He had seen what he believed was the Otina communications room, as well, and was trying to decide whether they should try to send a message or take a ship.
Captain Curtis was set on taking a ship.
“We could lure the Otina out with a diversion and have someone slip into their barracks,” Singh suggested.
