It was subtle, but Jhally’s head lowered some. Then his shoulders rounded down. “I am sorry. Truly. I know my words are meaningless. I know what I have done, what my kind has done, and continues to do across the galaxy. It is horrid.”
“Yeah, he does that. Makes pitiful apologies, but don’t believe ’em. It’s not in their makeup to care about us,” Donny said, moving over to Karen’s side and puffing his own chest out. By clenching his fists several times in rapid succession, it evoked the tendons and pronounced muscles along his large forearms and biceps to bulge. The Marine had his own reasons to hate Gaps. There wasn’t a Human being alive who didn’t have his, or her, own horror story concerning these alien invaders.
“This isn’t about Jhally’s feelings, or even ours, for that matter. Again, this setup is a means to an end,” I said. “Karen, you’re free to be here. You know we are coming up short with qualified pilots, but I can’t tolerate anyone standing in our way. Or the possibility of someone around with loose lips.”
Karen whirled around to face me. Seething, her eyes narrow, she asked, “Who made you the fucking general around here, Brian? If you think I would ever talk about this . . . to anyone, especially to a Gap, well, you really don’t know me at all.”
“There’s a lot at stake. I . . . we . . . can’t afford to trust anyone who isn’t totally locked-in . . . who isn’t a part of this.”
“Pffht, Seriously? And what is this about? The Takebacks? A gang of little boys, all pretending to mount an uprising someday? Yeah, the Shredder is impressive. Maybe you’ll even get it working someday. Maybe you’ll even learn how to fly it, but what then? Take on the whole Earupitan contingent with one craft? You three against all the invaders?” She gave a sardonic laugh. “Grow up, Captain Polk. Face reality . . . we’re screwed . . . the whole world is screwed.” She turned back to the alien, then to Donny. “And Donny, if you don’t stop staring at my tits, I’m going to show you how a gal can take down a man twice her size.”
I laughed. I missed this girl’s spunk. What she didn’t know was that the little gang, coined the Takebacks, she was referring to, had since grown in size to twenty-six men and women.
“What do you think, Brian. Show her?” Matt asked.
Reluctantly, I nodded. “Sure, why not?”
Donny and Matt headed toward the middle of the barn, where it looked to be old farm equipment covered with more tarps. Karen, still looking annoyed, watched them with only mild interest. Donny pulled the first of the tarps free as Matt pulled the second one away. As they continued to pull all the tarps away, Karen stared, her mouth gaped open. There, situated in the center of the barn, were another four Earupitan Shredder Crafts. Nary a one showed the same, nearly pristine condition as the one in the workshop. But dirty, dented, and scarred as they were—each possessed wings, an intact fuselage, and a tail section.
Karen took a step forward, then kept on moving ahead. She studied the assembled spacecraft, going from one ship to the other. Only then did she turn back to me. “You have five ships,” saying it as a statement, not a question. “You have the beginnings of a squadron.”
“Yes,” I said.
“And, um, Jhally’s going to help you . . . repair them?”
“No. Well yes, but these . . . sure, they look like shit, but they’re the ones we’ve already got working. They just need to be flight-tested.”
I watched Karen contemplate that last bit of information. But upon seeing her eyes well up with tears, I was taken by surprise. I wanted to go to her. Pull her close and wrap my arms around her. But I knew I could not. Why would things be any different now than they were a year ago? Our relationship only lasted one month. How did one love someone who was still in love with another person? Someone who would always remain much bigger to her than life itself? Hell, she’d just said it: her husband was the love of her life.
“Hello? Did you hear me,” Karen asked, staring blankly back at me.
“Sorry, what?”
“Do you have a plan? Like where you would deploy these Shredders?”
“You mean like here . . . on Earth?”
Her brow furrowed. “Of course, here on Earth.”
“No. That would be suicide. Five Shredders against thousands.”
“So, what then are we doing?” she asked, growing irritated. “God, it’s like sucking water out of a damn rock with you, Brian.”
“You said we?”
Karen hesitated. “Yeah, well, I guess I’m in this now too. One of your stupid Takebacks . . .”
I smiled. Strangely, I didn’t mind showing my pleasure on hearing those words. “We’re going to give the Gaps back a little of their own medicine.”
She looked at me sideways. “Every other uprising has failed. How many have there been over the last two years? Twenty? Thirty? What makes yours any different?”
“Those were ground assaults. Attempts to retake city strongholds.” I glanced over at Shredder Five. “Look, four of their colossal Situational Command Ships are still in orbit around Earth. The intel we’ve acquired states they’re some kind of battle carrier . . . Weaponized dreadnoughts, used specifically for planet invasions.”
“Yeah, so?”
“Well . . . I want one. I want a Situational Command Ship.”
chapter 6
I awoke to the sound of a woman’s unconstrained screams. I rose up onto an elbow and glared toward my open bedroom window. Mort, from where he was asleep next to me on the floor, rushed to the window and stared out. He gave a short growl, then turned back to me. The screams were now coming in long, ten second sets.
“Come on . . . just shut up already, Molly!” I yelled, as I threw back the covers and swung my legs over the side of the bed. “You’ll eat when everyone else does!” I knew the wailing sounds were not coming from a terrified, stricken woman standing somewhere out there in the yard. Although similar sounding, the screaming actually came from an obese red fox named Molly. The fox was not a pet. In fact, I had no idea when the rotund animal first settled on my property. According to my late brother, some three years past, the obnoxious animal had already been seen hanging around this place. We figured our parents had probably fed the damn critter once or twice so she simply never had a reason to leave.
I stretched my arms high into the air to get the kinks out of my back, then did a few other rudimentary stretches that had become part of my everyday morning routine. Later, I’d find the time to head out for a five-mile run. I had the feeling I needed to stay in top physical form for what would be coming. Dropping down to the floor, I did three sets of one hundred push-ups. Then next, placing my toes beneath the small gap beneath my dresser, I did the same amount of sit-ups, all in rapid succession. I thought back to the previous night’s meeting with Donny, Matt, and Karen. I was pleased by her reaction, seeing the five Shredders. She wanted to know all the details—more importantly, where and how we’d acquired them. I told her that for both her and our protection, I couldn’t tell her everything—not yet, anyway. Of course, both Donny and Matt already knew since they helped orchestrate the acquisitions—but it wasn’t a far stretch to consider Karen being brought-in for questioning. The Gap’s interrogation technology was advanced enough to easily determine whether or not someone was lying. Sure, she told all of us yesterday she was in, but I’d give it a week, or two, before I openly confided anymore of our secrets. Although thoroughly vetted a year ago, that’s as far as it went with her. A lot could happen in a year. As much as I cared about her, to some extent she was still an unknown entity. Plus, she had a five-year-old daughter we needed to consider. The Gaps would have no problem using that child as a bargaining chip to prompt Karen into divulging secret information.
How we managed to acquire the five Shredders ended up being fairly ingenious. On the day of the invasion, the Gaps systematically attacked each and every military base, independent of nationality, all arou
nd the globe. The Air Force Academy, located in Colorado Springs—just an hour’s drive south of Castle Rock—was among those hit, even though its existence there was more university-like than functioning as an actual military base. Dormitories, Vandenberg Hall, as well as Sijan Hall, were all demolished. Over twenty-five hundred cadets, young men and women, were slaughtered in their sleep, while certain other areas of the large facility were left pretty much unscathed. Turned out, the Gaps had big plans for the expansive academy grounds that would later serve in their long-term needs. The Air Force Academy became the Earupitan’s Central North American Logistical Center. In other words, it was where the Gaps kept track of all their physical assets—from Skim-Rovers and Shredders, to the mounting hardware on a gravity-pulse cannon and the rose-colored western shirts worn by those in the Earupitan Marshal Service.
The big break came when we discovered the alien empire utilized a certain lightning-fast proprietary network. This network even transmitted targeting coordinates for kill-and-destroy missions to their spacecraft, via laser signaling. And this same network was used by the logistical center, where orders were taken for everything: from Slap Wads, the alien variation of toilet paper, to ordering HovT vehicles for law enforcement, as two examples. Turned out, Earth’s modern-day society had one thing the Earupitan Empire was concerned with only on an abstract level: Hacking. Sure, there were criminal elements associated with the Earupitans, as probably did all intelligent life elsewhere. Various forms of illegal network intrusion were nothing new across the universe. One of my close Air Force buddies, Mike Post, a computer genius and another member of my team, came up with the proverbial All Aces. First of all, the Gaps purposely did not destroy Earth’s essential infrastructure like its roads, rail transportation, municipal water and electric utilities, or its telephone and other communication lines, which the alien invaders tied many of their own systems into. Mike discovered there were remarkable similarities between Earupitan Empire Prime Network protocols and those used by Humans for their ultra-secure networks, like that of the NSA, and even NASA. And he knew first hand this alien network was quite hackable. So under my relentless hounding, Mike spent a full year attempting to do just that. Hack the Earupitan Empire’s Prime Network—specifically, tap into their Colorado Springs, Central North American Logistical Center. Once their back-and-forth-communications protocols were deciphered Mike and I were able to start testing. We needed to start small, like the transference of atmospheric cabin filters from one center’s location to another. Or perform the deletion of minimal stock quantities of products, like Slap Wads. Then we would wait to discover what happened next. See if any alarm bells were triggered, or if holy hell broke out higher up the chain. But nothing happened. Soon Mike was ready to take bigger risks. For three weeks, Donny and Matt conducted nighttime reconnaissance missions at the logistical center’s various outdoor storage yards. There were a number of them. Areas dedicated to newly-arrived interstellar freight. Separate areas for delivery to parts of the North America Sector and the world. Areas which became a catch-all for all the shit they didn’t know what to do with—like broken stuff. Items that normally would be repaired on the alien’s home planet or simply destroyed. Yet, according to the hacked logs, some things just sat around week after week, month after month. Some of the broken items included five Zion-9 Shredder spacecraft. Corresponding virtual paperwork confirmed none were operational. Thus, the decision was made they could be put to better use, by me and by my team. The real trick was in arranging how the five Shredders—one at a time, over the span of subsequent months—were to be delivered to a local Castle Rock scrapyard, where they’d be crushed and removed from circulation. But they weren’t crushed. Instead, they secretly were loaded onto long-bed trailers and delivered to my front yard, where they were quickly hauled out of sight and into the barn.
Once I’d finished with my morning exercise routine, I began to make my bed. Something I made a point of doing every day, no matter where I slept. Whatever life had in store for me on any given day, this one simple act—making the bed, and doing it superbly—was empowering. A physical and mental reference point that seemed to provide me with a solid mental foundation, helping me deal with whatever life threw at me that day.
Smoothing out the last of the creases atop the bedcover, I heard a familiar distant sound. Shit! Only one vehicle’s power-plant made that particular sound. A HovT. HovTs were the hovercraft vehicle of choice for the Earupitan Marshal Service. With a quick glance out the window, I saw the hovercraft pull up close to the barn. To my horror, I also noticed the aluminum trough still sitting right where I’d left it the night before. Yet that would be nothing compared to what they’d find inside the barn, if they decided to get nosey. Did I remember to lock the barn doors last night? I always lock the doors . . . why would I not have locked the damn doors? I pulled on my jeans, not bothering with shoes. Out the front door in under a minute, and hurrying toward them, I did my best to look unconcerned. Just ahead, were two armed, uniformed Gaps, one wearing a blue shirt, the other green. They were already climbing out of their HovT hover patrol vehicle.
“Hey there! Good morning!” I said, giving them a welcoming smile. “What can I do for you guys?”
At that same moment, I heard the sound of Jhally’s shit bucket clanging against something within the barn.
chapter 7
The two uniformed Gaps looked toward the barn doors. Both simultaneously tilted their heads, as if listening for further noises.
“Rats,” I said. “Big as house cats. Fucking things.”
The Gap on the left, wearing the green shirt, said, “I am Marshal Black, this is Marshal Clark. This is a search for illegal contraband. The local sector is being scrutinized. Comply with our search requests to avoid being taken in for further questioning.”
I knew this was no request. More like a directive. I stared off into the distance where I could faintly make out a vehicle just sitting there. A maroon minivan, parked off to the side of Lake Gulch Road. Coincidently, Ronald Gant drove a maroon minivan. That son of a bitch!
Both of the towering Gaps were now scanning the assortment of stuff in the trough. Picking up and inspecting each object: the circulating pump, the bag of baking soda, and the other items that were to be used for my new lobster cultivation project.
I noticed the two Gaps were of different genders, their features quite dissimilar from one another. And the coloring imbued in their scaly flesh was also different. This became more obvious seeing them now standing side-by-side. Not to say that either of the two were of the female gender. I figured I was more informed about the unique alien gender thing than most people were.
Over the preceding months of the Gap’s captivity, Jhally had become more and more open, more forthcoming about the Gaps’ home planet—pronounced Gahl—sharing specific details pertaining to its society along with other aspects of his fellow aliens. Late one night in the barn, as I was repairing Shredder Three. Donny had warned me, time and time again, not to turn my back on the untrustworthy alien, especially if I were within reach of his long, umbilical-like, chain. Jhally was instructing me on how to repair the steering mechanism within the ship’s cockpit, and doing so in near-flawless English. The two of us had spent much time together over the past months, within the solitary confinement of the barn. Still sitting in the forward seat of the cockpit, I was well aware I’d broken Donny’s rule allowing Jhally to stand so close behind me. Jhally positioned himself atop a tall stack of nearby hay bales so he could better observe the repairs I was making. But I was becoming more and more cognizant of the fact that the powerful alien could easily leap right onto the Shredder’s fuselage, then snap my neck in the blink of an eye. Nervously glancing over my shoulder, I asked. “So . . . tell me . . . the evolution of Earupitans on Gahl . . . it is, or was once, similar to that of Humans on Earth?”
Jhally responded back, in his wet gravelly voice, “Hold on, Brian . . . that nub-rod
you’re holding, it’s upside-down . . . flip it around the other way, and remember, the threading goes in the opposite direction. Tighten it by turning your wrench counter-clockwise.”
I did as told, before stealing another quick glance over my shoulder. “Yeah, that did it . . . thanks.”
Jhally, in answer to my previous question, said, “No. Evolution on Gahl was quite dissimilar to all species that I’m aware of on Earth. To start, we used different kinds of molecules to encode genetic information. But for convenience sake, I will still call these genetic molecules DNA, although you Humans have little in common with Earupitans DNA. Nonetheless, Earupitans DNA . . . let’s call it E-DNA, contains genetic information in the form of genes that is evolved to successfully pass this information from generation to generation. As you are well familiar with, all the cells of Earth’s higher animals and plants contain a double set of DNA molecules . . . a double set of chromosomes . . . yes?”
I nodded, “That’s right.”
He continued, “Each set springs from one of the parents. The idea of having the double set is simple: From an evolutionary standpoint, if one of the genes is damaged, the second copy still works. This way, an accidental damage to one of the important genes won’t result in the death of a whole cell, or of the body. In addition, genes coming from the parents—mother and father—may be slightly different and work better under different conditions. The organisms with a double set of chromosomes will have a broader range of conditions so they can better survive.”
Although I already knew such basic science, I didn’t want to interrupt the alien since he was on a conversational roll.
“Well, Earupitans, and other similar species, possess a triple set of E-DNAs.”
That did surprise me. “Three?”
“Which makes our genome extremely robust and resistant to any damage; you’d have to damage all three copies of the same gene to kill a cell. And, of course, having a triple set of E-DNAs makes us very versatile when it comes to inhabiting different environmental conditions. This partially explains our success as a race of being interstellar invaders. Successfully invading is one thing, but prospering on planets that have different environments is quite another.”
The Hidden Ship Page 4
