The train finally pulled into Gallery Place and Karen tried to signal to Oria that they needed to get off here. As the door opened, the crowd pushed out the train's door. A large crowd was on the platform trying to shove their way into the car. Karen walked towards the escalator and then turned and hoped to find Oria not too far behind. As she stood and waited, Oria slipped behind her and in a quiet voice said:
“Are you waiting for someone?”
“Oria? How did you get around me?”
“I saw you headed out the door so I went through one of the other doors. I guess I got through the crowd more quickly than you.”
“Well, I'm glad you made it. I wasn't expecting to have the crowd yank us apart.”
“Yes, I was a bit concerned too. Well, I'm hungry. Do we have time to grab a bite before going to the game?”
“Yes, I am famished. Given the time, we’ll have to settle for fast food. I know of a fast food joint about a block from the Verizon Center. We can go there, that is of course if fast food is all right with you?”
“Sure.” Oria wondered what Karen meant by fast food.
Karen and Oria went to a Burger King located about one block from the Verizon Center. They walked up to the counter, ordered some food, and grabbed a seat in the small dining room.
When they finally sat down to eat, Oria could tell that Karen was tense, at least much tenser than when they first met earlier that day. Oria spoke first.
“Karen, are you all OK? You look like something's bothering you.”
“Is it that obvious? I guess it was all the rushing to get here and calling ahead to make sure we still have tickets. Also I've been thinking about some of the things you said at the symposium.”
“What were you most interested in?”
“Sheesh, you get right to the point. I need to be careful how I answer a question like that. The Air Force has this thing about secrecy. However, I can say that there was a wide gambit of subjects that you touched on that have obvious military implications.”
“Yes, I understand. Here let me give you a piece of this material I used to cover the target. We can then change the subject and not get either of us in trouble discussing secrets in a public place.”
“That sounds like a winner to me.”
Oria and Karen finished their dinner and headed over to the Verizon Center. There were already lines forming at the ticket pick-up windows. Karen hoped that General Bronson's exec had been successful in getting the tickets reserved in her name. Generally, Cap tickets were not transferable.
Only four people were in front of Karen in the line at the A-D window. It took only a couple of minutes for her to get to the front. She was relieved when the ticket agent handed her two tickets reserved in her name for Section 110 Row G.
Karen smiled and looked at Oria. She said “Oria, I can't believe how good these seats are. We're going to be right up front. Let's go find them before the game starts.”
“Ok. Lead the way.”
Anxiously, Karen and Oria headed for their seats. The crowd from the subway station and now at the arena was starting to wear on Oria. He was not used to having so many people around him having spent most of his life aboard space ships. When he was on the ground, it was usually for very short periods to attend a meeting or in many cases part of a battle. Oria seldom had time to relax. When he did relax, people did not usually surround him.
It only took a couple of minutes to reach the portal to Section 110. Karen handed one of the tickets to Oria and told him to hang on to it. The usher watching Section 110 led Karen and Oria to their seats only moments before having to rise again for the National Anthem. Oria listened intently to the words as a female voice sang them out. He stood in awe as he thought of the contrast between the wimps in the Azortec military and the utter determination and celebration of victory portrayed by the Star Spangle Banner. Oria felt a twinge of pride in Earth and the people, his people, which he came to enlist in his fight against the Creytes.
A million thoughts raced through Karen's mind as the 1st period flew by. Karen wrestled between romantic thoughts of Oria and her obligation to spy on him. She had never met a man who so moved her emotions and had such a strong presence about him. During his impromptu presentation at the symposium, Karen admired his confidence and command of everyone there. She was particularly impressed since he so easily commanded the respect of some of the country’s top physicists who also attended the symposium.
Karen was rudely disturbed from her thoughts when the buzzer sounded ending the 1st quarter. She then noticed her thirst and hunger for something cold and wet and possibly good to eat. An ice-cold beer and a soft pretzel would certainly be in order. She glanced at Oria hoping he was thinking along the same wavelength and would offer to fulfill her wish. He seemed a bit slow on the uptake and Karen knew he would need some prompting.
Oria spoke first “That was exciting. I think I'm finally starting to figure this game out. Thanks again for inviting me.”
“You’re welcome, you know, watching all that action makes one thirsty.”
“Is that a hint? I guess I could use a drink too. What would you like?”
“Geez, I thought you'd never ask; how about a Coors Light and a soft pretzel?”
“Sure. See you in a bit.”
Oria climbed the steps to the portal entrance hoping that his Nanticoke team would show up and let him know what a Coors Light and soft pretzel were. When he entered the hallway inside the arena, he saw Peter and Hoss. Oria quickly walked over to them and inquired about the food and drink items that he was supposed to get.
Having received instructions from Hoss, Oria started walking to one of the concession stands. He only got about half way before the alarm on his communicator rang. It was Captain Borella on the Hercules.
Oria answered the call while dodging other fans on his way to the outer edge of the hallway where there were fewer people. No one seemed to notice anything strange about his electronic device. For all anyone knew watching Oria, his communicator must have been a cell phone.
Borella's voice boomed on the other end “Admiral, we suspect you are about to pick up an unfriendly tail.”
“I assume you're not referring to Hoss or Peter.”
“That's correct. Your new love . . .” Borella laughed to himself, as he and Oria always kidded each other about lady-friends. “Karen called her boss and told him of your interruption. It safe to say, you had the desired impact. General Bronson, her boss, ordered agents to tail you and . . .”
“Good, as long as they don't suspect our true identity yet, we should be able to make smooth contact.”
“Not so fast Admiral. Do you recall that little adventure we had destroying a Creyte exploration ship?”
“Yes and we didn't get their escape pod.”
“That's right. We've now located the escape pod and it is in West Virginia. It appears our age-old nemesis, Commander Retilia, was aboard. Apparently, they also had other operatives already in place. Retilia is close to making contact with the President of the United States.”
“I was hoping they were not that far along. Borella, find out how much the Creytes know about our operation. For once, we should have a substantial technological edge over them. Remember we went back a year in time. Let's not rush our initial contact any more than necessary.”
“Aye sir.”
Oria disconnected the call and followed Hoss' direction to a stand that sold Coors Light. He had to pass several stands selling other beer brands. Oria wondered what so special about this particular brand of beer. Why didn't Karen want a more accessible beer? Well, he thought, “If it's Coors Light she wants, its Coors Light she'll get.” Both Peter and Hoss said the flavor was too light for their tastes. They preferred dark beers and would have nothing to do with any of this lightly colored water.
There were close to 10 people already waiting in line when Oria got to the concession stand. The line moved quickly. As Oria waited, several young men got behind him weari
ng black outfits with spikes running up and down their jackets and chains hanging from their waists. Both men had metal rings and other objects piercing their ears, noses, mouths, and even their tongues. Oria thought this quite strange. “Why would anyone in their right mind attach junk metal to their tongue and other body parts?”
Oria saw a longhaired man walking real close to the concession stand cut right in front of the two strangely dressed men. He bumped one of them as he scooted by. Immediately, the bumped person grabbed the longhaired man and slammed his fist into his face. Longhair staggered for a second and then kicked the other person between the legs and back into Oria. Oria caught the man and then forced himself between the two fighting men. He grabbed each man with a single hand by the scruffs of their necks, gave them a cold stare, and in a firm voice ordered them to stop fighting. No sooner than Oria completed his sentence, several security guards descended on the combatants.
The security guards quickly handcuffed the two men and forced them to the ground. One of the guards, who identified himself as Sergeant Berry, started to chew Oria out.
“Mister that was a real stupid stunt you pulled. Any of these jerks could be packing and easily of killed you. Next time, let the pros handle this type of situation. Do I make myself clear?”
Oria chuckled quietly to himself. He knew if he wanted to, he could easily have terminated all three men before they could have drawn a weapon. However, since he did not want to make waves with the local cops he meekly replied, “Yes sir, perfectly clear. Next time I will be more careful.”
The security guards and their prisoners left quickly after that. Oria returned to the business of getting drinks and pretzels. He was happy the fight cleared the line cutting his wait time.
With beer and pretzels in hand, Oria fought his way back through the crowd to the portal entrance and his seat with Karen. The game was close to starting and everyone was trying to fight their way back through the portal entrances at the same time.
Karen smiled as Oria sat back down at her side. In a soft voice, she said “Thanks Oria that is just what I needed. I trust your trip was uneventful.”
“You’re welcome. Nothing much happened on my trip.”
Karen desperately wanted to find out more about Oria. Not only was it important to her because of her job, but now, since she was starting to like him, she wanted to know more about Oria for her own reasons.
“Oria, this might sound a little forward, but I take it you're not from this area.”
“That's close to the truth. Although I was born on the Eastern Shore, it was a very long time ago. This area is completely different now, how about you?”
“Me too, I'm originally from Colorado. Now, being in the Air Force, I’ve moved around a lot. You know the military?”
“Yes, you might say I have some military experience. However, I haven't had the opportunity to get back home much.”
“I know what you mean. I usually try to get home at least once a year during the holidays. By the way, I am in awe of your knowledge of physics. Where on Earth did you ever pick up all that knowledge? Are you some kind of scientist?”
“Not really. I have more of a military background than a science background. Hey look, the Caps are getting a power play, let's finish this discussion later.”
“Ok” Karen really wanted to keep on talking. She was intrigued that Oria had a military background. She wondered under which service he served. When she next talked to General Bronson, she would be sure to ask if he found anything out from his own background check. The Caps were leading the Red Wings 2-1. Oria appeared to be intensely following every move. Karen normally would be equally excited, however, this time she was thinking too much about Oria and not getting deeply interested in the game. There was something about him, a charisma or the excitement and anticipation of discovering some new truth that totally captivated her thoughts. Karen began to recognize that she was starting to have more than just a professional interest in Oria. She knew that she needed to keep her emotions in check.
The 2nd period battle between the Red Wings and the Caps was intense. A large brawl broke out on the ice between several players on both teams. The Refs ended up placing two players from each team in the penalty box on majors. More than one fan did not like the call. A couple of Detroit fans several rows in front of Oria and Karen, started to get real upset and were shouting profanities at the Refs. Next to them, two Capitals fans that took issue with their remarks and yelled back. In a matter of seconds, the argument erupted into a fight.
Out of the corner of her eyes, Karen saw two burly security guards rush to break up the fight. Oria just sat and watched the entire spectacle in amusement. He recalled the words of Sergeant Berry during intermission and again laughed to himself.
Karen watched in horror as one of the combatants pulled out a gun and shot one of the guards. She froze in her seat when she saw Oria move with lighting speed across several fully occupied rows and neutralize the man with the gun before he could get off a second shot. The other Security Guard quickly joined Oria, pulled out handcuffs, and quickly cuffed the man.
Meanwhile, the wounded guard had fallen backwards and was grabbing his left shoulder while applying pressure to the gaping hole in the meaty head of his shoulder. A pool of blood was growing on the floor and the guard quickly grew pale.
Having stopped the gunman, Oria turned his attention to Carlos, the wounded guard. Karen watched him as he pulled out a small device about the size of a smart phone and held it over the guard's injury. She saw the guard's shoulder glow as the wound faded away.
As Oria moved the ETU (emergency trauma unit) across the guard's shoulder he said, “You should be ok, all you have is a flesh wound. This should stop the bleeding and close your wound. You'll probably be a bit weak from the blood loss. You need to see a doctor.”
“Thank you sir, I don't know what you did, but the pain is gone.” Carlos was the only one outside of Oria who truly knew how bad his injury was. The device used to heal him had to be way beyond anything that he knew was medically possible.
Oria replied, “You’re welcome” as he quickly slid the device back into his pocket. More guards came and escorted the combatants out in handcuffs. One of them stayed back and started to ask Oria some questions. It was Sergeant Berry.
“You again, I thought I told you to leave this work to professionals.”
“Yes sir, you did.”
“Then what on Earth were you doing? You could have gotten yourself killed as well as others in this audience.”
Carlos slowly rose to his feet and stood next to Oria. “Sergeant, if this man had not taken action when he did, more people would have been killed. I never . . .”
“Carlos, if I wanted you to speak I would have asked you. Get one of those medics to check you out. You have blood all over your shirt and the rest of your uniform.”
“Ok Sergeant, but . . .”
“I thought I told you to get yourself checked out.”
Carlos turned and headed towards one of the medics working with some of the other victims. This incident reminded him of how the security business attracted more than its fair share of jerks. Most security people were decent, but there were always a few bad ones in the bunch. Sergeant Berry was obviously one of the bad ones.
Sergeant Berry was quite angry after his exchange with Carlos. His face reddened as he again directed his wrath at Oria. “Now Mister, what is your story. Do I need to arrest you to make you understand?”
At that moment, several D.C. police officers arrived. One of them dressed in plain clothes flashed his detective badge at Sergeant Berry. “All right Sergeant, we'll take it from here.”
Oria was quite relieved that he no longer had to deal with the belligerent Sergeant. The D.C. police officers were much more professional in their handling of questions. They asked several questions, gave him their business card, and allowed him to return to his seat.
Oria reached his seat almost at the exact time the seco
nd period ended. Karen was still in shock when Oria sat back down next to her. She had this image of him being a geek. She had no idea he also possessed the athletic prowess he had just displayed.
“Oria, where in the world did you learn to move like that? I've seen some of the best martial arts experts and you make them look slow!”
“I guess it was part of my military training. I was in a special program and I’d love to tell you more, but I can't. You're in the military, so you know how it is.”
“Unfortunately I do.” Karen felt frustrated by Oria’s remark. The more she discovered about Oria, the more she wanted to find out; but at the same time, the more barriers appeared between them. Karen had no choice but to go along with Oria's story. General Bronson could sort out the classified stuff later.
“Well Karen that quarter went quicker than I expected. What do you say to a couple more beers? I think I could definitely use one.”
“I agree, only this time let me go with you. I need to use the ladies’ room.”
Oria and Karen walked up the stairs together and into the long corridor that circled the arena. Karen split from Oria and headed towards the ladies’ room. Oria went to purchase a couple more Coors.
When Karen finally got out of the ladies’ room, she ducked behind a pillar. She reached into her purse and pulled out the secure cell phone. Karen was antsy and excited as she dialed General Bronson's exec.
“Hello Lt. Johanson, this is Major Brown.”
“Greetings Major, do you need the General again?”
“Not necessarily, did you get any background information on Oria yet?”
“Sort of, however it doesn't make any sense.”
“Really, is there . . .”
“We have results from a finger print check. They match some prints taken from a recent archeology project on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.”
“Good, we're making progress. Tell me more.” Karen recalled Oria telling her he was originally from the Eastern Shore. However, she wasn’t ready to share her tidbit with the exec.
Legend of Oria 1: Initial Contact Page 13
