When Eagles Dare

by Doug Dandridge

  Grolrror looked over at the male, on the edge of making a snappy comment. Seeing the concerned angle of the pilot’s ears, she held in the comment. She could feel the muscles twitching on the side of her head, signaling her emotions for any Xlatan to read. It’s no wonder we have so many fights among our people, she thought.

  At times she envied the other species who didn’t wear their emotions on their ears for all to see. It was a part of their culture, but it caused so many problems.

  “I’m fine,” she said finally, knowing that the pilot wouldn’t believe her. Fortunately, she had enough rank to allow her to get away with a false statement and not be questioned.

  “Are we loaded up?”

  “Well, we have what we have. I wish we had the gunship, but Commander Mmrash considers it his own personal property.”

  And he has that right, Grolrror thought, looking away, then activating the comm.

  “All soldiers of the people. I want everyone fully armored when we hit the ground. Gloves, face masks.”

  Some groans came back over the comm. Nobody liked to operate in that hell with everything covered, trapping the heat. Their ears would still be exposed, but it was unlikely anything poisonous would hit such a small target. If it happened, it could only happen once. That would be too many, but soldiering was a dangerous job, and the people preferred to be able to share their body language with each other.

  “There’s a village ahead, Major!” the pilot of the second shuttle shouted out.

  “I want both shuttles to do a fly by and hit them with lasers.” She looked ahead and saw a small clearing. “Then we’ll land in that clearing and deploy into two squads to sweep the village.”

  She made sure her own helmet was settled, then pulled on her gloves and pulled her face mask from its belt pouch.

  “You mean to go out there, Major?” the concerned pilot asked, his protective instincts coming to the fore as indicated by the twitch of his ears.

  “I’m also a warrior and the leader on this mission. It’s only right for me to share the risks.”

  The pilot let out a short laugh, and Grolrror glared at him, making him turn away. She knew what he was thinking. They were attacking a bunch of primitives, thousands of years behind the Xlatan in tech, not even out of the stone age. What was there to fear? That kind of attitude was what got warriors killed. Mmrash wouldn’t put up with it, and neither would she.

  “Ugh,” grunted the pilot, looking at the screen that was showing what was underneath them as they flew over. “What in all the hells is that mess?”

  Grolrror pulled up the feed to see what the pilot was talking about and recoiled from the sight as well. The creatures down there in the tops of the trees looked like an insectoid predator from the Xlatan home world. She knew the ten-legged things moving through the mass of webbing were nothing like the deadly creatures of her home. They were herbivores, in fact, and the Kalagarta actually raised them for some obscure reason. These appeared to have been in the vicinity for quite some time, since the tops of the trees looked like they’d been browsed on continuously. The mass of thread-like webs, what the creatures used to build their nests, was as strong as carbon fiber. It seemed like such a waste of a resource to be used by such primitives.

  Grolrror looked away, concentrating on the overhead map of the village. It wasn’t all that large, only twenty huts or so. Maybe the home to two hundred natives. There was some movement down there, and she froze the screen and zoomed.

  “No children,” she said, feeling some relief that there weren’t any in the target zone. And some trepidation as well, since their absence could mean something was going on with the natives.

  “Let’s get this over with,” she said under her breath, then activated the comm. “Both shuttles are to sweep from north to south. Try to hit every hut on the way through.”

  She knew that might not happen, but it was worth a try. Burning huts would flush their occupants, and she’d rather have them all out in the open before she landed the troops.

  The shuttles swept in, huts in front of them bursting into flames and falling apart as if a large sword of fire was sweeping through them. Essentially, that was what was happening, as the powerful lasers swung back and forth in front of the shuttles. At first they were completely invisible in the light of day, but soon the smoke pouring into the air highlighted the beams.

  “Do you want another sweep?” the pilot asked, looking at a screen that was showing the camera view from behind.

  “No need. There’s no one here.”

  That wasn’t quite true. About a dozen of the Kalagarta had vacated the huts, including those that hadn’t been hit, but that wasn’t enough for a village of natives that size.

  “Go ahead and land. We’ll move in and take care of the few still on their feet.”

  “And any that escape?”

  I’ll wish them safe travels, and hope they get away from the bastards we work for.

  The clearing, the only contiguous open space within the village, was set to the west, covering fifty yards by forty. There were several flimsy-looking animal pens and plots of plants. Nothing the shuttles couldn’t crush underneath.

  The pilot spun the shuttle around so the rear hatch was pointing toward the village and set her down. The second shuttle was an instant behind, still up in the air about fifty feet, when the pilot of the other shuttle shouted out.

  “There’s something at the edge of the woods. No, two of them!”

  “What?”

  “Some kind of wooden constructions. I don’t know. They remind me of something, but I can’t figure out what.”

  The view from the camera on the other shuttle came through, and Grolrror found herself leaning forward and squinting her eyes to look at them. They were large wooden constructions, like wagons without wheels, with some kind of structure above them. They looked like the end of a trunk set into supports to the side, and a large rock hanging from the end.

  “It looks like some kind of catapult,” the pilot said, at the same instant Grolrror thought the same thing.

  “Take them out with the lasers!” she shouted, at the same time the arms started to move.

  They slammed down, the large rock on the end of the arm pulling the hefty log up, the sling on the other end rising up and sending another rock into the air.

  “They’re firing at us,” said the pilot of the other shuttle, a note of derision in his voice.

  Grolrror could understand how he felt. They were primitive weapons, unlikely to hit anything. But if one of those rocks did hit? It wouldn’t destroy a shuttle, but it could damn sure damage it. As soon as that thought ran through her mind like a charging predator, she noticed the shiny net that was trailing the rocks.

  “They don’t have to hit us!” she shouted, turning to look at the pilot. “Get us the hells out of here!”

  “We’re hit!” the other pilot yelled out. “One of the engines flamed out!”

  “Can you get away?” the major asked as the net came down over her shuttle.

  “We’re not under the net,” the pilot replied. “We can stay in the air, but we’re not going to hit a high velocity until we get that engine pod replaced.”

  “Stay in the air and cover us.” She looked over at the warrior seated beside her. “Can we get back into the air?”

  “I can try.”

  The pilot attempted to pull the ship up. The engines reached a high pitch, and they started to rise. That was when three huge wooden spears came flying out of the forest, obviously propelled by some other machines. Two missed, but one hit with a thud, followed by a grinding noise over the whine of the engines.

  “One of our engines just spiked!” the pilot shouted, a look of panic in his eyes as his ears frantically signaled his distress. “I think one of those things went through the front intake of the engine.”

  Grolrror stared at the pilot in disbelief. These were primitive weapons with no guidance systems!

  “The other engine is overhe
ating now. I don’t think I’m going to be able to get back into the air until we get this net off of us.”

  “Set her down.” Grolrror looked into the face of the other pilot. “Try to burn this crap off of us.”

  “I’m already trying, Major, but it’s not burning for hells.”

  The fiber was from a natural source, but it was as strong as anything modern tech could manufacture. And now it seemed like its heat conduction properties were also off the scale.

  “Cease fire. We’ll dismount and see what we can do.”

  Grolrror unbuckled and rose from her seat, heading into the troop compartment. The soldiers were already out of their seats, readying themselves for combat.

  “I don’t know what they have waiting for us out there,” she told the soldiers, pulling on her mask, “but we can be sure they have another surprise to throw at us. Everyone stay alert.”

  The trooper closest to the hatch activated it, and the large door cracked opened at the top and started on its way down. The troops nearest the door stood ready, weapons to their upper shoulders and pointed outward.

  “Move!” Grolrror shouted, pushing the Xlatan ahead of her toward the exit. She wanted to get a look outside before she started making her deployments, though forming a perimeter around the valuable shuttle was a priority.

  The first pair moved out, setting themselves a couple of yards from the shuttle and covering the rear. The next pair went to the right, those after to the left. Grolrror pushed ahead, determined not to be the last. As soon as her boots hit the ground, it all went into the crapper.

  “Look out!” one of the Xlatan soldiers yelled. A ball of fire went up, rising from a hole in the ground and washing over two of the Xlatan. One fell back, beating out the flames on his armor. The other was less fortunate, falling forward and into the fire pit that was blazing with white-hot flame.

  “Get him out of there!” the sergeant yelled, moving toward the soldier, then shying back from the heat.

  The attention of the Xlatan distracted, the next act of the ambush opened. In a hundred places in the field, some even directly under the shuttle, woven coverings were thrust back by Kalagarta warriors who immediately started pelting the Xlatan with their primitive weapons. Scores of spears and hundreds of the smaller darts of blowguns bounced from the armor of the more advanced species. Mostly. A couple of Xlatan had the misfortune of having poisoned darts hit openings in their suits not covered by armor. One in the join between glove and sleeve, another in the gap underneath the face mask. Both soldiers stiffened immediately, then fell to the ground with bodies twitching. The poison of the Kalagarta was deadly, and there was no time for any kind of medical intervention.

  “Kill them!” Grolrror yelled, raising her rifle and touching the firing stud, putting a laser through the head of a Kalagarta.

  Beams immediately flew through the air, and the Kalagarta died in droves. They showed no sign of fear, and continued the attack, though that might have been fatalism more than anything. The other shuttle hovered in the air, sending its nose laser down to sweep across the ground. The net interfered, but didn’t stop the beam, which set Kalagarta warriors on fire to croak out their lives in agony.

  “Keep it up!” the major yelled out, taking another shot. Something stung one of her ears. She ignored such a small pain, until moments later she was unable to draw breath. Her vision started to fade as she fell to the ground, her muscles twitching uncontrollably.

  * * *

  “The Major is dead, sir. The damned primitives poisoned her with a dart. What kind of savages use poison?”

  People who can’t fight back against us any other way, Mmrash thought, closing his eyes and gritting his teeth.

  Major Grolrror had been a good officer. She’d also been a very attractive female, something he hadn’t allowed himself to think about since she was a subordinate. He didn’t know much about her past, family, education and such. She’d come to him from the clan with sterling recommendations. Now she was dead, leaving him as the only Xlatan officer on the planet.

  “We killed all the savages, sir. You can believe that. And took great pleasure in it.”

  “What about the shuttle?”

  “We were unable to get her into the air,” the sergeant said, his ears twitching in distress. “Some ground crew are going out on the other shuttle to see if they can free her from that netting and get her home.”

  “Be very careful, Sergeant,” Mmrash said, leaning forward and staring at the other male. “If they set off one ambush, they might have plans for another. The mechanics would make good targets.”

  “I doubt they’ll be back, sir. We wiped out that nest of savages.”

  You’re a fool, the commander thought, his ears twitching in a manner that seemed to alarm the sergeant, who leaned away from the Tri-V.

  “Be careful. Take nothing for granted. If people die because you didn’t take heed of my advice, I’ll have your hide.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Mmrash terminated the connection so he wouldn’t have to deal with any more stupidity. Unfortunately, stupidity came seeking him a few minutes later.

  “We need that gunship back here, Mmrash,” Jillor growled over the comm. “We only have one damaged shuttle left, after your people lost two of them.”

  We only lost them because we were following your orders, the commander thought, his fur rising in anger as he felt the muscles controlling his ears go into a staccato beat of anger.

  “I need the gunship for the mission I’m on. You know, the one you ordered me to complete, searching for the Humans.” And if I hadn’t been out here, the gunship would have been covering the assault that cost Grolrror her life.

  “Are you questioning me, boy? I gave you a direct command to send that gunship back here. You’ll comply, immediately, unless you want more trouble than you can handle.”

  “It’ll be coming in,” Mmrash growled through gritted teeth. “Just give me a chance to switch out to another of the shuttles.”

  “How long?”

  It was more than he could take. “As long as it takes.” He dismissed the comm and sank back into his seat.

  “And don’t think this is going to get you away from me,” the commander hissed, looking over at the pilot. “When we switch out the shuttles, you’ll switch with them.”

  “When do you want to make the switch?” the pilot asked after a double shoulder shrug. “And where?”

  “We’ll make the change when I say, and where I say. And you can run back and tell the boss I said that when we return. But until then, you’ll stay off that comm unless I tell you. Understand?”

  “Yes, commander,” the pilot replied, his ears slumping in dejection.

  “Now keep us circling on the search pattern I ordered.” Maybe we can get lucky and find them, then Jillor will have to give me a pass. Damned businessman.

  That was really his only hope of surviving this mess. If the Humans got to the compound and started some mischief that disrupted the operation, he was sure his body, or at least the constituent parts of it, would be going into the river to feed the fish.

  If that happened, he’d have to find a way to make sure Jillor preceded him in death. He still had the poison he’d contemplated before, if he could get within range before the boss shot him.

  * * * * *

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Jillor stamped with heavy footfalls back and forth in front of his desk, glaring at the Tri-V projector on his work station every few moments.

  How dare he disconnect on me? he thought as he felt the blood rush to his face. Mmrash was his subordinate! Jillor wasn’t a military man—he never had been—but he’d been placed in this position by the Syndicate, which meant he had the power of life and death over every single being in this compound. He didn’t even need a reason to execute any of them, and no one in the Syndicate would question his decision.

  But the damned Xlatan clan would, he thought, stopping for a moment and staring at the Tri-V proj
ector. The Xlatan weren’t the most advanced species in the galaxy, but they had access to Galactic weapons and transport. If they decided they wanted him dead, and were willing to pay the price, he was gone.

  “Are you okay, Boss?” Hrallo asked over the intercom.

  She’d let him storm and rage but must have become concerned when he’d stopped. Jillor knew when he quieted down from a tantrum he was at his most dangerous, and that was when his people started looking for cover. All except his loyal secretary, who felt secure around him.

  “I’m fine, but I want to know immediately when Mmrash brings in the gunship. I’ll be out talking with our big gun.”

  He could hear from Hrallo’s intake of breath that she didn’t like to talk about the creature. That was good, as far as he was concerned. Any misgivings his people had about the thing would help keep them in line.

  * * *

  “We’re cutting you loose here, Lrator,” Jonah said, looking into the slitted eyes of the prisoner.

  He had it set up so the Kalagarta were over a mile ahead, while he, Manny, and Charley had fallen behind with the prisoner. As far as he knew, all the natives were in that group, being watched by four of his people. He might not be able to protect the Xlatan from all the natives, but he was determined that none of those traveling with him would be the cause of the cat’s death.

  “You know I’ll be dead before the night’s out,” said the Xlatan, who now had his helmet back on. He was fully suited and armored, but of course had no weapons or electronics.

  “I’m giving you a chance, probably more than I should. If you head southeast, you’ll come back to the area of the fire. Perhaps one of your shuttles will spot you.”

  “Then I guess this is it. I won’t wish you good luck, Colonel.”

  “I will wish you luck in getting back to your people,” Jonah said, stepping back from the prisoner while Manny released his arms from the restraints. Charley stood with his rifle pointed at the Xlatan, ready to fire if the creature made any move to attack. “But once you’re back with them, and operating against me, we won’t hesitate to kill you.”