by GARY DARBY
In a tense voice, she said, “Lara, if you can hear me but can’t talk, tap once.”
Dason listened to a distinctive tap in his earpiece.
“Got it,” Bianca whispered. “Keep the team concealed. Do not engage the XTs. Repeat, do not engage the XTs. Once you’re in the clear, report your status. One tap for understood.”
One tap came in answer.
“Brant,” Bianca directed, “Move forward. We’re on the depression’s far side.”
“On our way,” Brant replied.
Minutes later, Dason, acting as a lookout, murmured to Bianca, “They’re here.”
“Where?” Bianca asked.
He jutted his chin toward a stand of trees. “The tree with the deep V-notch and the large purple bush at the base.”
Dason watched two drooping limbs of the shrub slowly open and then close again.
“You’re clear,” Bianca spoke low over her comms. “Ten meters ahead and to your right, thicket of bushes.”
Once everyone had crawled into the hideaway, Bianca gathered them close. “Here’s the situation. In a ravine about thirty meters away, a group of large extraterrestrials appears to be holding our comrades and another human hostage, along with three small XTs—different species.
“The big aliens are armed. Dason and I communicated with Granger using code talk. He and the others are all right, but they can’t escape, so we’re going to help them get away.”
She then explained her plan and outlined everyone’s assignment. Since they knew very little about their XT foes, it would be a dangerous operation.
Turning to Dason and Brant last, she stressed, “Remember, one pass through and get out fast. Don’t make yourself a target. If we can’t extract the hostages, we abort and regroup. The rally point will be two hundred meters downstream.”
Then she issued one last injunction. “Stun only. Use deadly force only as a last resort. I’m hoping that by some miracle after we get our teammates back we can still have peaceful communications with the aliens.”
When she saw that everyone was ready she said, “I wish there were more of us, but I’m confident we can do this.”
Sami snorted. “Ma’am, as long as we’re wishing, how about a couple of Nav battle Predators, a regiment of Space Marines, and . . .” Bianca’s glare caused Sami to say with a sheepish expression, “Well, just wanted to get in my own wishing.”
Bianca glanced around, took a deep breath, and commanded, “Scouts Out.”
One by one, the team pushed out of the bushes. Dason took a quick sip of water from his mouth tube to slake his dry mouth. But the liquid didn’t dissolve the ball of nervousness that rode in the pit of his stomach.
He had a feeling that he was about to go up against something that was every bit as dangerous as an actual Torther Ape, and this time it was for real.
Chapter Five
Star Date: 2443.060
Unnamed planet in the Helix Nebula
Easing his back against the cracked, granite-colored boulder, Dason took advantage of the camouflage that a clump of knotty, tan-tinted foliage provided and waited for the signal. His heart raced and he had to force his swirling thoughts to the task ahead, which included coming out of this alive.
From the branches of a swaying tree came a rapid twit-twit that caused him to turn his head. A birdlike creature sat on a nearby low limb. It fluttered four bone-shaded wings against a jade-colored body.
Arching a slender neck over its back, it brought a long, thin, split tail to its amber-tinted, hooked beak. It ran each tail segment through its bill several times as if it were cleaning the feathers.
Dason shook his head. The peaceful scene above him was in sharp contrast to what he felt must come once Bianca gave the word.
He checked to make sure his L-gun was set to first-level stun, the lowest setting, in deference to Bianca’s last order.
From his hiding place, Dason took a quick peek at his intended route. He didn’t want any surprises. Noting the time on his LifeSensor and seeing it was within seconds of his check-in time, he whispered over his communicator, “This is Dason, I’m ready.”
“I’m set,” Brant reported.
Bianca murmured over the communicator, “Stand by, Stinger One crew, we’re coming in. Once we hit, get everyone up and over the embankment.”
She gave the hostages a few moments to make their own preparations in anticipation of the coming assault and then quietly said, “Runners. On my mark, three, two, one and—go!”
Dason jumped from his hiding place. With feet pounding and arms pumping, he sprinted right at the aliens’ camp.
He dashed between clusters of stringy bushes in a zigzag pattern. From the camp’s other side, Brant started yelling like a wild man, shattering the still, cool, early morning air.
Dason hesitated, unsure if Brant shouted because of an injury to himself or to momentarily distract their adversaries. He hoped it was the latter because he didn’t want to challenge an armed encampment of hostile aliens all by himself.
Picking up speed, Dason burst into the campsite. Several large creatures had their weapons aimed in Brant’s direction.
Dason took quick aim and fired off a shot. An XT wheeled and dropped to the ground. Without aiming, Dason kept shooting in their general direction.
To his left he heard the distinctive prriing sounds from other firing stunners. Two more large aliens fell, one on top of the other.
With loud growls, the star beasts turned and dove for cover. Dason spotted Nase and the others trying to pull the three small XTs to their feet.
A scarlet beam split the air just above the group causing the young female to dive behind several boulders. Dason shouted, “Over the berm! The team’s on the other side!”
Dason raced to help Shelby push a little XT up the small slope. Nase and Granger yanked the other smaller aliens to their feet and all but threw them up the slope.
A red beam flashed by Dason’s head, just missing him. His nervous system tingled and he stumbled from momentary light-headedness.
Regaining his balance, he leaped out of the line of fire. He landed with a grunt against the young woman who crouched behind the craggy rock.
Dason glanced up and saw Bianca and Sami on the ravine’s edge firing down into the clearing. Wheeling to one knee, Dason could tell that some of the large XTs returned fire, but for some reason, not all fired back.
The giant extraterrestrials snarled in their harsh language and gestured toward the humans, but held their fire. Several tried to dash toward the smaller XTs in their scramble over the ravine’s lip, but the constant fire from above drove them back.
Dason saw Nase clambering up the embankment, when someone—TJ, he thought—reached out and pulled him over the incline.
Grabbing at the woman, he shouted, “Let’s go!” and pulled her upright before shoving her toward the slope.
He had barely taken a step when a hurtling brown body blindsided the two and landed heavily on top of Dason.
By instinct and training, Dason rolled with the energy and tried to free himself from the creature’s grasp. The coarse alien fur grated against his cheek while the two grappled.
The XT’s muscular body told Dason that going one on one with the brute was not a battle he would win so he tried to bring his stunner into play.
In a flash of motion, Bianca was in the midst of Dason’s fight. With catlike reflexes, she pivoted on her feet and brought one foot crashing into the XT’s head. With a dull thud, the humanoid hit the ground. “So much for interstellar peace,” she muttered.
Grabbing at Dason and the young woman, she yelled, “Move!”
Out of the corner of his eye, Dason saw more of the lumbering giants bearing down on them. He was grateful that the XT hadn’t drawn his two swords. Being outnumbered in a knife fight was the last thing he wanted.
Bianca pulled at the woman’s arm and shouted, “We can’t go up the hill, make a run for it!”
The three dashed down the ravine, spri
nting around several trees and through bushes so the XTs couldn’t get a clear shot at them. Behind him, Dason could still hear the sounds of stunners and the pursuing alien’s guttural shouting.
Crashing through a thin, wispy, golden-tipped bush, Dason cut one way and then spun in the opposite direction, his only thought to put distance between himself and the enraged extraterrestrials.
After several minutes of running, Dason and the two women slowed, since it appeared that the large aliens hadn’t followed them.
Bianca took refuge behind a towering tree and spoke into her communicator, “Brant, report.” There was no reply. Bianca repeated her request, but only silence answered her call.
She then said, “Lara, report.” Again, there was silence, not even a tap in response.
In a crisp but urgent voice, Bianca implored, “Anyone from the rear team, report.”
Nothing.
Her voice pitched higher from desperation, Bianca asked, “Stinneli, Shanon, TJ, Sami?”
With a slight edge in her voice, Shanon replied, “I’ve got Nase, TJ, and Sami with me, plus three small XTs. I don’t know what happened to Doctor Stinneli.”
She paused before saying grimly, “The last I saw of Brant before losing lost sight of him was that he was being chased by several of the larger XTs.”
“Anyone else?” Bianca anxiously asked.
“No ma’am,” Shanon replied, “we haven’t seen any of the others.”
“Any large XTs on your trail?” asked Bianca.
“Unsure. There was some laser fire off to our right a minute or so ago, about where we got separated from the team earlier.
“We’ve tried to make these little people stop and go to ground, but they have a mind of their own and are moving through the woods as fast as they can.” ”
She paused for a second before saying, “Stand by, we may have a problem here.”
Dason and Bianca locked eyes, both afraid that the big XTs might have found Shanon and the others. Bianca motioned for them to move back and duck behind a series of leafy bushes, where Dason went to one knee and surveyed their back trail.
He tried to calm his anxious mind, but his anxiety grew as Shanon stayed silent. Then, over the comms her voice came back. “Sami’s spotted some of the large XTs.
“He says they seem to be casting around like they’re trying to find our trail. But if these little XTs don’t quiet down, it won’t take much to find us.”
Bianca hesitated before saying, “I hate to say this, but under the circumstances, try and stay with them as long as you can, but if, in your judgment, they become a liability and risk your capture, break off and let them fend for themselves. Understood?”
“Understood,” Shanon replied.
Bianca’s response was somber, “We have to assume that the large XTs may have gotten Brant and the others.”
She was staring at the ground before her head snapped upright as if a sudden thought had come to her. “Shanon,” she asked, “by any chance, are the little XTs headed toward Sami’s big tree?”
Shanon was slow to answer, but then replied, “Hard to say, but that’s their general direction. Wherever they’re going, they’re not trying to hide their movement but are making a straight beeline through the forest.”
Dason looked at Bianca. “The objects in the tree?”
She nodded. “I think so. From what I could see, those belts and other artifacts would be about the right size for them.”
Speaking again over the comms, Bianca said, “Shanon, I’m reasonably sure that they’re making for the tree and those objects we found are their cached gear. We’ll try to rendezvous with you there.
“However, my earlier instructions still hold, and if we lose comms or we don’t show up in a realistic amount of time at the rondy point, make for our set-down site and boost out to a safer location.”
“WILCO,” Shanon replied.
Dason turned to the young woman who could only hear one side of the conversation. “We’re trying to link up with the rest of our team. They’re off to our left and headed for the designated rallying site.”
“Is that near your ship?” she responded. “I have no desire to tangle with those uglies again without a weapon.”
Bianca shook her head. “No, we’re going to another site and try to link up with as many of my team as we can before we head to our scouters. I wouldn’t advise you heading back to your vessel.
“Those ‘uglies,' as you say, will probably set an ambush for anyone that gets near your craft because that’s the logical place to go. Your best bet is to stay with us while we try to make it back to our ships.”
The woman wrinkled her nose as if she didn’t like Bianca’s reply but after considering it for a few seconds, she shrugged and said, “Okay, I’ll stick.”
“Good,” Bianca answered. “By the way, I’m Captain Bianca Ruz, Star Scout Command, and this is Scout Dason Thorne. And you are?”
The young woman whirled around with her mouth open. She stared at Dason, her face going from an expression of agitation to something bordering amazement and open hostility.
“Dason Thorne,” she breathed out.
Dason nodded and asked, “You?”
She worked her mouth for an instant and then stated, “Alena.”
Bianca gestured with a hand toward the nearby stream. “Trail quiet, move fast and stay low. We’ll head downstream before turning toward the hills. Dason, take the point, Alena behind him.”
Alena gave Dason a cold, hard look before saying in clipped tones, “After you, scout.”
Dason glanced over at Bianca, who shrugged in response. He half expected a thank you for the rescue, and Alena’s angry expression and snide retort surprised him.
Nevertheless, he turned and led them through the deep underbrush, avoiding open areas wherever possible.
For over an hour, in silence, they made their way along the stream. At times, they could hear deep growling voices in the distance, but each time the XTs drew away.
Recognizing several landmarks, Dason said to Bianca, “I think we’re close to the rendezvous spot.”
Bianca keyed her communicator. “Shanon, status report.”
Breathing heavily, Shanon replied, “We’re closing on the big tree. You?”
“Same, but we’re most likely downslope on your left flank. Any sign of the large XTs?”
“Not lately. They came close a couple of times, but somehow I think we slipped through them. Not sure how, these little people aren’t very good at keeping quiet for anything.”
“Roger. How’s Nase doing?”
“Fine. Gave him my extra comms set, he’s wired up.”
“I have communications now,” Nase remarked.
“Great,” Bianca responded. “You know who I am and your team status?”
“Sami gave me the details on the run,” Nase replied.
“Literally on the run,” Sami interjected.
“Unembellished, I’m sure,” Bianca commented in dry tones. “Okay, scouts, for now, stay the course but keep your eyes and ears peeled.”
In a grateful voice, Dason added, “Good to have you back, Nase.”
Speaking to Alena, Bianca pointed ahead. “There’s a giant tree some distance ahead. We’re going to meet with four other scouts and the small aliens.”
She turned to Dason and ordered, “Pick up the pace, I suspect that if we know the XTs are heading for the big tree, the large extraterrestrials will figure that out, too. I don’t want our teammates running into a trap.”
They darted forward, intent on reaching the giant sequoia-like tree before the large aliens caught up. Dason came around a stand of ramrod-straight trees and in the near distance spotted the three little extraterrestrials, followed by his scout mates.
Shanon was right, Dason thought, the three aliens rushed ahead, not making any effort to try and keep quiet or remain concealed.
The two groups converged on the tree at almost the same time. One alien knelt down a
nd pulled out a tubelike device from among the twisted roots. The XT began to turn when a bolt of red energy tore out a chunk of the tree trunk just above the alien’s head.
With bits of rusty colored bark showering down, Dason yelled, “Take cover!”
He dove at the alien who, for some reason, refused to budge. Hit the XT full on, Dason sent both of them sprawling on the hard ground. The cylinder device flew out of the alien’s hand and landed several meters away in the stubby grass.
A second scarlet bolt split the air just above the two, so close that Dason could smell ozone from the energy weapon’s searing heat. The alien struggled to stand, and Dason reached out to push the alien down and out of the line of fire.
The XT jerked as Dason reached out and instead of his hand landing on the XT’s bony shoulder; Dason’s palm hit the alien’s head where one of the needle-like appendages lay.
A sharp pain shot up Dason’s forearm from the fleshy thorn embedded in his palm. For a second, he froze in place, unable to move.
Then, like a multitude of snapshots flashing one after another in staccato succession, his mind filled with a series of rapid-fire images.
A hail of incredible imagery pounded his mind; alien planets, red giant stars, dwarf stars, dark and glowing moons, and gaseous nebulas.
Spinning, whirling scenes of alien races, humanoids, and nonhumanoids, worlds full of what could only be extraterrestrial cities and vast complexes.
Then came terrifying vistas of exploding suns; novas expanding out to engulf complete star systems in a wave of destruction, leaving nothing behind but tiny, fiery fragments of shattered planets and moons.
The images came faster and faster blending together in one unending mosaic. Still more appeared, with human beings in various landscapes, astonished expressions on their faces. A sharp blue oval encircling the humans who stood with stunned countenances.
And last, a scene where a Star Scout stood on an alien world with a half-destroyed moon riding the sky behind him.
A pressing, overwhelming darkness overtook Dason as if he were being sucked into a deep well whose ebony maw swallowed him whole and then . . . blankness.
