"Yes, and what is America's position on this?"
He shrugged his shoulders.
"Precisely, this isn't the last war. That was total war where every human being fought on whatever front he or she happened to be on. But this is something very different."
"So, we do nothing because we aren't from here?"
"That about sums it up."
Taylor got to his feet. He'd seen enough. He left the room and headed for Tsengal. The alien was happy to see him, although he was surprised to not find Jafar there. Ryan stepped through a moment later.
"Jafar, where is he?"
"On guard at our perimeter with three of the crew," he replied. "World's going to hell. We hold two aliens and a UEN Councillor on board, think we aren't a target? No, I want to be ready when someone comes after us."
"A wise move," he said, looking back to Tsengal. A screen was on near him, and he was looking through recent history since the war had ended.
"Memory coming back much?"
"Yes."
"That man who was in here earlier, you recognised him, didn't you?"
"I think so."
Taylor tapped a few buttons on the screen and brought up Armand's profile with a picture of him.
"How? How do you know him?"
Tsengal seemed to study the face very carefully until finally something clicked in his mind. His eyes widened in horror.
"What is it?"
Tsengal's memories were flooding back to him, and the subject he so desperately needed to tell Taylor. He didn't know where to begin, but Armand's face was what was stuck in his mind, and he was beginning to remember why.
"What we discovered on Red 1. That is the reason I had to get back you. Colonel Chandra ordered me to do so."
"Okay, well, spit it out."
"Hundreds of thousands of humans in incubation chambers, like you saw before in the war. Maybe even millions of them."
"And Chandra discovered this?"
"Yes, deep below the surface."
"Well, where did they come from? What, clones or what?"
"We did not have time to find out. But what I know for certain is that Councillor; he is one of them. He was one of the faces I saw there."
"Maybe a million humans, and you remember his face? How can you be sure?"
"It was him; I was as close to him as you are to me now."
"So these humans are somehow working for the Krys?"
"Why else would they be there?"
"This is crazy. I can't believe what I'm hearing," Ryan said.
He waited while Taylor tried to make sense of what they had heard.
"You are one hundred percent about this?"
"I spent years trying to get back to you with this news which would have died with the Colonel."
Taylor sighed; the idea was quite simply frightening. Unfortunately, it was starting to make sense.
"You're not believing this? It's crazy."
"Sounds crazy, Ryan, maybe. I wish it was crazy, yes, but it's starting to make sense. Chandra and I came across a number of incubated humans during the war. Something none of us could ever explain, and every time we recovered any of them, the evidence was destroyed instantly. It's the reason Ramstein was flattened, or we think anyway."
"So let me get this straight. What you're telling me is that the human race has been infiltrated by other humans, programmed or created somehow by the enemy, to penetrate deep within our political system and do what?"
"Maybe to do exactly what we are seeing today. Armies who were recently the strongest of allies are now at each other's throats. This fighting is not going to stop anytime soon."
"But why?"
Ryan looked to Tsengal for answers, but he did not have any.
"Divide and conquer," stated Taylor. "The Krys threw everything they had at us, sheer mass of numbers, superior technology, and Planet Killing weapons. But what beat them? The strength of humanity united under one banner."
"Okay, let's say you're right. They do what? Push all sides into war and then sit back while we slug it out, weaken each other to the point where they can come back and triumph over..." He shook his head, "Oh, shit, it really is working."
"What proof do you have of this?"
"None, only what I saw."
"We have to get this information out there. People are killing each other over this," said Ryan.
"And how do you propose we do that?"
He began to open his mouth and then stopped, realising the situation they were in. Tsengal suddenly spasmed and then spat out blood over himself. He began shaking violently.
"Doctor!" yelled Taylor.
The man rushed in to his aid but looked completely clueless as to what was happening. Tsengal flat lined and went still. The doctor was pushing needles into him and pulled down a hinged device from the ceiling, placing it over Tsengal's heart. His body spasmed again as electricity pulsed through his body in an attempt to revive him.
"No, we can't lose him now. Save him!" Taylor begged.
The Doctor was trying everything, but to no avail, and then he stopped.
"What are you giving up for?" screamed Taylor.
"I am sorry, Colonel, but he's gone."
"Gone? He just recovered!"
"I don't understand it, something has shocked his body, but I can't see how."
"Well find out!"
He was looking over everything until finally he checked the nutritional drip that led into his body. He opened up the container the line was drawing from and recoiled at the smell.
"What is it?"
"Not that I know for certain, but I'd say he's been poisoned with something truly nasty. If it is what I'm thinking, he didn't stand a chance."
Taylor turned to Ryan with sheer hatred in his eyes.
"Get guards on Armand now!"
"Sir, he's an UEN Councillor. What if we're wrong?"
Taylor simply glared back at him until he did as ordered.
"All right, but this is on you."
It was obvious Ryan had a hard time believing the facts they had been presented with, but that was no surprise to Taylor. They were as bad as news could expect to be. Taylor heard shouts down the corridor and more over his comms channel. He rushed out of the room. Ryan was at the end of the corridor attending to an unconscious crewmember.
An alarm sounded throughout the ship as he rushed to the Captain.
"Where is Armand?"
"They've gone. We've got two wounded."
Taylor drew his pistol and rushed for the ramp out of the ship. He found Jafar and the other crew with their weapons at the ready but utterly unaware of what the emergency was.
"Where's Armand?"
"Departed by car about thirty seconds ago, Sir!"
"Fuck!" he screamed.
"What are your orders, Sir?"
"You stay put. Be extra vigilant, and report and all suspicious activity. Councillor Armand is to be considered an enemy agent from now on!"
They all looked confused but did as ordered. He paced up to Jafar so he could talk more privately, but he did not attempt to break the news softly.
"Tsengal is dead. Killed by that coward Armand. He's one of the clones, or reprogrammed humans, whatever they are. Like we saw back in the war. Tsengal confirmed it and was killed because of it."
"Then his duty has been done."
Taylor seemed surprised by the comment.
"How so?"
"His last orders were to return to you with news of what he had seen. He accomplished that, did he not?"
"Well, yeah."
"Then his death was not in vain and his mission accomplished."
Mitch got what he meant, but it didn't make him any less angry about the situation. He rushed back aboard the ship. Ryan was awaiting him at the top of the ramp.
"Casualties?"
"Two wounded. They'll be okay."
"Everything that Tsengal told us before he died, you have records of?"
He shook his head.
"Armand
had our surveillance and recording drives fried before he left. Onboard cameras are still in operation, but they're not recording anything they see."
"So we've got no evidence of either Tsengal's report, or of Armand's escape and assault on the crew?"
He shook his head once again.
"This is turning from shit to worse, Captain. Tell me you have some good news."
"I wish I did, Sir."
He stopped for a moment, trying to think who he could go to with the news. He knew he had no choice but to go to General White, the commanding officer who wanted to hear nothing more from him for years to come.
"Come with me, Captain. We need to talk to White."
"Why me, Sir?"
"Because besides me, you're the only one who heard Tsengal's story, and you think he'll take my word for it?"
They stepped into Taylor's personal quarters and put the call through. The General's secretary answered.
"Put me through to the General," he commanded.
"I'm sorry, but the General is otherwise engaged."
"The World is going to shit, and we might just have some information which could save it, so put me through to the fucking General!" he screamed.
The officer seemed taken aback by the response, but like many on the base, he knew Taylor's reputation and found it hard to say no.
"All right, Colonel, transferring you now."
The General appeared before him and looked flustered.
"What the hell do you want, Colonel? Haven't you caused enough trouble?"
"Tsengal, Sir, he woke up and has revealed some vital new information."
"This better be good, Taylor. I'm a busy man."
"It'll blow your mind."
He had the General's attention now.
"Taylor, you've got my attention."
"You remember the human incubation chambers we found during the wars, Sir?"
"I heard about them, never did manage to get any looked at by experts."
"No, because the enemy had them destroyed before we could learn the truth. Red 1, where Colonel Chandra and Tsengal were left; deep underground they found God knows how many humans like that, maybe millions."
"Wait, wait, wait. Just hold up there, Colonel. You're telling me in alien space, on the alien planet, Chandra discovered these humans?"
"Yes, Sir. I'm still no closer to understanding if they're some kind of test tube creations or reprogrammed prisoners from the first war or what, but what I do know is that at least one now walks among us on Earth, confirmed by Tsengal with his own eyes."
White still seemed baffled by the whole thing.
"This is all sounding like crazy talk, Colonel. Get to the punch line."
"Sir, they're infiltrating governments, starting wars, weakening humanity from within. Councillor Armand is one of them, and is just one at the heart of it in the UEN. I bet the US government has these spies embedded, too."
"Why am I only just hearing about this now, and from you? These are big claims, Colonel. You better be able to back them up. I want Tsengal returned immediately for questioning by our top people here Stateside."
"He's dead, Sir."
"He's what?"
"Murdered by Armand and his people before they managed to slip off this ship."
"What other evidence do you have besides your word?"
"Mine, Sir," Captain Ryan stated.
"Great, one of Taylor’s fan club ain't gonna cut it. What do you have that is real, that can prove this, that will convince anyone this crazy story is true?"
"Nothing," he replied with a sigh.
"Then it is nothing; hearsay, scuttlebutt, and a waste of my goddamn time. The World is in real trouble, Colonel. We need real solutions. Get your ass back here immediately, and forget all this nonsense until such time as you have some actual proof. Get your head screwed on, Taylor. We may well need your skills in the days and months to come."
The transmission cut out, and the two of them were left speechless.
"So that's it? We can't prove it, so he won't believe us?" asked Ryan.
"Does seem pretty farfetched until you have seen all we have seen."
"Then what now? We can't go home and forget all this?"
"No, we'll just have to find another way."
Chapter 8
"It is the second day of fighting at the Gafsa prison, and Spanish forces now occupy the northern sector and claim to have executed up to fifteen hundred alien prisoners. Meanwhile UEN forces continue to gain in number and dig into their positions. Casualties on both sides are now numbering in the hundreds, and there seems little hope for a ceasefire."
Taylor, Jafar, and Ryan sat around the conference table fixated on the news. They had talked most of the night over what to do with the information they had and still not come up with an answer.
"You think Armand will come gunning for us?" asked Ryan.
"No, not yet. Right now we're a US vessel on peacetime operations. He can't touch us. At least not until we go after him."
"So what now, then?"
"We need to find someone who will listen to us. Someone who can spread the word."
"Who do we know who we can trust?"
"Those who fought with us in the wars," he replied.
"Like who?"
"We'll start with Dupont."
"I thought the guy hated you and you hated him right back?"
"Yeah, but when you start running out of friends..."
He put the call through, and Dupont answered personally. He clearly knew who was calling and smiled as he answered. It was a slightly sleazy smirk. Taylor didn't know how to take the man anymore. He seemed to have humanity’s interests at heart, but they simply rarely got on.
"Colonel Taylor, you must be in some real trouble to be calling on me?"
"You got it, General. You know how the World is turning, and I know it was your boys who took Spiteri."
"Come on, Colonel, that's a little farfetched."
"I know because I was there. I saw their uniforms and tussled with them personally."
His face turned from a smile, realising Taylor wasn't bluffing.
"But I don't care about any of that. What I care about is stopping this damn war before it blows up in all our faces."
"That's out of my hands. France wants the aliens dead, and nobody should stand in her way."
"Not at any cost?"
"You've obviously got something to say, so get on with it, Colonel."
He took a deep breath and tried to find a way of making it sound believable.
"We have reason to believe alien programmed or cloned humans have infiltrated governments, certainly in Europe, and probably elsewhere, and are pushing all sides to war, in an attempt to destabilise the World ready for another attack."
Dupont burst out into laughter, and Taylor didn't blame him. It did sound absurd when there was no first-hand account or evidence backing it up.
"Colonel, I'm glad to see you still have a sense of humour, but I really do have work to do. Thank you for the entertainment, though," he replied and ended the call.
"Figures," said Taylor. "I guess if we can't convince one side, we'll just have to work the other."
He put a call through to General Schulz and was met by one of his staff he did not recognise.
"Please put me through to General Schulz. I have important news."
"I am sorry, but the General is extremely busy."
"I'm not wasting anyone's time here. It is vital I am put through to the General."
"The fact you got through to his office at all is only a courtesy due to who you are, but any information you have can be relayed when the General has time."
As Taylor began to speak, he saw Schulz appear in the corner of the screen. He must have heard Taylor's voice and decided to investigate. He said something in German to his officer before taking over the comms himself.
"You have something important for me, Colonel?" he asked bluntly. "Please be short and to the point."
<
br /> "Yes, Sir. The simple fact is, humans working for the Krys have infiltrated elements of government in Europe and elsewhere and are pouring petrol on the flames of war."
"And you have evidence of this?"
Taylor shook his head.
"Colonel, I have countless dead and wounded, and a war on our hands we could never have expected. Please do not give hope where there is none."
"You don't believe me?"
"How can I? Even if it is true, who are they? How can we find them, and how would it make any difference here? We're at war now, once more. Now please, I have much business to attend to."
And just like that, the conversation was over again. Ryan pointed to turn his attention to the news that had still been running but had been muted. It was a map of Europe showing some evolution of borders. Mitch put the sound back on to hear it was the drawing up of borders by the European Alliance. He could see it already included Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, Hungary, Slovakia, Serbia and Romania.
"They're heading for another World war."
"You have chosen the wrong side," stated Jafar.
"I wasn't aware we had chosen one," replied Taylor.
"You will not see harm come to the prisoners. So you are with the UEN."
"And should we not protect prisoners of war?"
"You assume they are all like me and Tsengal. They are not."
They turned their attentions back to the news as they caught sight of an alien soldier. Narration continued over the images.
"As the Spanish forces have pushed further into the Gafsa facility, we are getting reports that escaped prisoners are fighting alongside German soldiers. This video captured by one of the networks aerial drones appears to show exactly that, but representatives from the UEN have denied to comment on the matter.”
Taylor looked more closely and could see the creature. It was wielding a Reitech weapon. He froze the image and zoomed in. In the background, he could just make out another of the Krys armed the same, and a human standing behind that.
“They’ve really done it,” he whispered.
“How? How can they have gone from guarding the prisoners to fighting alongside them in such a short space of time?”
“It’s not that big a leap,” said Taylor. “These are people willing to fight to protect those prisoners, and once the camp was invaded, they’d take any help they could get. Think about it. Prison buildings being torn apart, and the detainees fighting for their lives, taking up arms beside the humans fighting for them is logical. On top of that, I bet the German UEN never expected it to go this far. I bet they haven’t been able to muster troops quick enough to get there in support. That’s why the air support went in so hard.”
Battle Earth VII Page 12
