While the Dragon flew away, the commandos descended by means of back-rocket packs. As soon as they reached their, earlier dumped armored vehicles, they drove toward pre-determined locations.
»Are you planning to attack the enemy head on? My soldiers could’ve done that already, perhaps better! My troops know each and every crater on this moon. If you need direct air-to-ground support … the Triton Hawks are Ready 2 …!«
»… oh, no, Ma’am,« Tor interrupted. »We’re just reacting to the enemy’s advances. The mission parameters only entail to create a buffer zone between the Circle forces and the base. A fight with these forces is neither planned nor intended at this time. The HOT commandos are occupying important, strategic locations. Let me explain.«
»I’m all ears,« Nok whispered dangerously and followed Tor to a different display.
Tor ignored her sarcasm.
»Ten specialists will enter the former tube-train system, which connects the base with the destroyed SETI observatory. We want to make sure that the invaders can’t use this tube system.«
Nok nodded.
»Well, they would need to get past the big airlock first and then face my guards … but I know what you mean. Continue, please.«
»Two groups are securing the surface northward. In case the Circle Generals change their plan and move across land, then my commandos will prevent that, either by pinning them down or interception.«
»Didn’t you say, a couple of minutes ago, that your commandos are not to engage in fighting?« she asked irritated.
»You misinterpreted me, Ma’am. The emphasis lies on: interception! Batu, the Angels and I will now join the teams to face the invaders. We intent to create a situation through which you’ll be enabled to negotiate with the enemy.«
»Are you nuts?« Nuri Jawa objected a bit too harshly. »You’re playing with the lives of your men, not to mention Batu, the woman and his guardians!«
»It doesn’t matter what we do, there’ll always be risks. Did you forget already that we’re a team of specialists in crisis management? The Tactic-Master needs to be close to the action, only this way can he sufficiently assist us.«
»Why do you think that the other side wants to negotiate?« Khalil asked with raised eyebrows.
»This particular unit certainly didn’t come to negotiate. At least it was not the initial intent. They wanted to deceive us to get to the gene data. After that they would’ve destroyed this moon and disappeared. By establishing this buffer-zone, without directly attacking them, we’ll show that we’re not impressed by their weapons technology and that we’re open to talks. These generals may be an aggressive bunch, but they’re not stupid. We’ll spoil their plan, then they need to follow our rules. We know that they want to attack us; all we’re doing is positioning in our favor. It’s like a game of Chess. The generals won’t negotiate, if they think they’ve got the upper hand. That’s contrary to their mentality. It looks different, however, if we can level the playing field.«
»I hope it’s not positioning to a bloodbath,« Nok worried. »You only have thirty people!«
»You’re jumping to the wrong conclusions, Ma’am,« Tor rebutted. »The number of my people is exactly calculated to establish an adequate counter balance. More troops would push the extra-terrestrials into a corner. They’d call one of their fortresses and that would be it for Triton. At this point, they’d even lose respect for the Techno-Clerics, who would not come to our rescue, as you well know. Trust Batu, Ma’am. He knows what he’s doing.«
»When did Batu develop this all-encompassing plan?« Nok said.
Tor glanced at his watch.
»About five minutes ago.«
»Wuh … what? Five Minutes ago? Are you kidding me, Mr. Tor?« Nuri Jawa shouted.
»That’s our strength, Miss Jawa. We react immediately to new challenges with the correct solution.« He turned toward Hassan Khalil and said, »Would you come with us, please? 40028 is also coming. The Tactic-Master considers you as a key element of his plan.«
Nok Daralamai and Nuri Jawa looked at each other, wondering about 40028’s invitation to join Nexus Tor.
Hassan Khalil smiled and nodded.
»If Batu thinks that’s a good idea, how could I refuse.«
No pain
»There’s no danger,« the woman assured.
Considering the situation, it sounded like a bad joke to Touns and Berga. Dozens of Frigonans encircled the two men while making longing, squeaking noises. They seemed out of control. Touns noticed that the Frigonans secreted liquids from their stingers. The beings shivered as they were moving around the men’s legs. They could hardly wait to jump the two men. Something seemed to hold them back, though.
»They’re just sniffing you out and are trying to get acquainted,« the woman said. »There were too many misunderstandings between us and your people. We need to start over.«
Touns wasn’t exactly sure who was talking to him – the woman or one of the Frigonan parasites, clinging to her body.
»What’s your name?« Touns asked and received a strange look.
The woman’s ice-blue eyes blinked a couple of times before she said, »My name? I … I don’t know what you …«
»… why are we here?« Berga interrupted her rudely and destroyed Touns attempt to come to a peaceful solution. As a result, the Frigonans began to snarl and hiss at the men.
»We came back and offer life in exchange for information,« the woman whispered with a differently sounding voice. »You were selected to show your leaders that we are good.«
Touns looked around insecurely.
»I don’t understand what you want to say. You attacked us without warning and killed our pilot. Do you think we’re that stupid?«
»We’ll return you to your people unharmed.«
Seconds later, the Frigonans jumped the two men. Touns and Berga had no chance.
Hundreds of fine stingers penetrated their spacesuits and drilled into their flesh, but the men felt no pain. Seconds later, there was no reason left in their minds to resist. Almost at the same time, both men dropped their weapons and resigned to their fate. They no longer doubted the woman’s words, whose name they suddenly knew: Uma Boos!
What is safety
The soft touches calm me and insure that I’m safe! These touches, sometimes unexpected, find their way into my mind, forming words and meanings. Safety … what is safety? What does this word mean in my world? Does it mean security; does it not also imply a possibility of danger? Maybe something hostile that enters my world, changing everything? Is there anything out there which can be classified as dangerous? Sometimes, I think I can hear noises, hissing, tones and absurd melodies, reaching me from beyond the great barrier, fading quickly in my world of colors, patterns and touches. My attempts to translate these noises and hisses to geometric patterns fail miserably; they remain indistinguishable and incomprehensible for me. My brain sees them as interferences and filters them out and then they lose themselves in the abyss of my mind. Maybe it’s nothing less than the faint echoes of this energetic storm, which created me and my existence.
Balkhanchi Batu-iin Obugtan
The Tactic-Master is right
»I understand very well how it is to see the world with different eyes,« Hassan Khalil mutedly addressed the Tactic-Master.
Batu was sitting opposite to Hassan in the Hawk’s cargo bay, constantly watching his 3D tablet. He didn’t react to Hassan’s words, didn’t even look up.
Nexus Tor flew the Hawk himself and steered it close to the ground almost grazing the craters while the Guardian Angels kept a keen eye on Batu.
Uta Neheb, who was sitting beside Batu, always holding his right hand, smiled at Hassan, shaking her head.
»Although he can hear you, his mind is incapable to associate the sounds. Autistic people live in their own world.«
»Hmm … but he can see me … as much as he can see his holographic tablet,« Hassan wondered.
»We don’t know exactly how
he sees his surroundings. He extracts information from what he sees, much differently than us. He probably doesn’t see us as people. I already worked with him before we joined the HOT. Batu is interested in light reflections, colors or interesting patterns. He ignores people.«
»Hmm … then he does not understand what dangers we’re facing,« Hassan concluded. »Do you think that’s right? Shouldn’t he be in a clinic … you know … for safety reasons? Instead he’s a member of a team of Solar Union specialist! Go figure that one out!«
Hassan was perplexed.
»Oh, wow, you’re seriously underestimating Batu!« Uta Neheb replied. »He knows exactly where we are and what we need to do. He just sees things differently.«
Uta signaled Batu with her fingertips while Hassan attentively watched her coding the message. She used all fingers of her right hand. Hassan gave up after a while, it was impossible for him understanding the code. Moments later, Hassan believed he saw a smile on Batu’s face. He had understood Uta’s correspondence. Hassan didn’t want to know what she had told him this way.
Tor abruptly changed course and banked the Hawk into a tight left turn. He announced via the inter-comm to suit up.
While Batu, Uta and the Guardian Angels were struggling with the G-forces, Hassan released his seatbelt and moved closer to the round cargo bay window to take a peek outside.
»The Hawk is going to land shortly,« he remarked.
»Yuh, like a dive-bomber, plus a rapid deceleration,« Chica moaned. »Why don’t you feel the forces? Shouldn’t you also be glued to your seat, like us?«
Khalil looked around surprised. Only the Techno-Cleric and himself seemed to have defeated gravity.
»I detect a compensation field, which comes from your spine, I cannot detect the source, though,« 40028 announced.
»Perhaps, your body is extracting the required energy from tachyon space. The field utilized by your body, is similar to my dampening field, which shields me from gravitational abnormalities.«
The Guardian Angels gaped at Khalil with wide open eyes.
Hassan just shrugged. He couldn’t explain it.
»Damn useful, don’t you think?« he just suggested.
»You can say that again,« Nino Coviello coughed theatrically.
»Space becomes an enchanting environment this way,« Shark mocked. »While everybody else is pinned to their seats, you just walk over to the kitchen nook and fry some eggs, hee, hee …, I mean for all of us, of course!«
»Why not, if you like scrambled eggs.«
Khalil rolled his eyes. He had to get used to the humor of the new guys on the block.
»Ground contact in twenty seconds! Close your suits!« Tor commanded.
Hassan saw that the Hawk was awaited on the ground. The previously arrived HOT unit had marked the landing field with illumination devices. They were securing the area.
»Are all of these specialists down there Hybrids?« Hassan asked the Guardian angels who were locking their helmets.
»They are all highly qualified mission-specialists from all works of life, but, no, they’re not like us,« Whisper explained.
»What’s with you,« Art Ultimus inquired via helmet-comm.
»What do you mean?«
»We’re going to land in a couple of seconds, don’t you want to suit up?«
Shark giggled and put on his gloves, especially designed to suit his skin flaps between his fingers.
»Ahem … you won’t believe it, but last time when I took a stroll on Triton’s surface, I was butt-naked and barefooted.« Hassan coughed in his hand.
The Guardian Angels looked at each other and broke out in a loud laughter, then they took Batu into their midst, while Uta made sure that Batu’s Suit was closed and ready for the outside.
The Hawk landed softly and Tor switched off the engines.
Moments later Tor came down to the cargo bay and gave some instructions.
»Team Bravo is waiting for us. About fifty meters to the South is the emergency hatch of the tube system. Batu warned us that the intruders will make use of the abandoned tunnels. Let’s go!«
Tor quickly glanced at Khalil, shrugged and activated the airlock.
»Hassan, you better activate your personal shield or you won’t enjoy the sunny day out there for long,« he remarked harshly.
»Nothing will happen to me,« Hassan replied. »Don’t you worry.«
Khalil stepped outside as one of the first people disembarking the Hawk. Team Bravo couldn’t believe their eyes as they saw him nonchalantly moving about. Via his radio he heard their gasping voices.
»Our sensor pods supplied good pictures,« the team leader reported to Nexus Tor. »The landed spaceship looks like the Blosphor, but is much smaller.«
Tor seemed satisfied.
»So, you found it, eh?«
»They’re in the center of the former SETI installation. They’re stuck in the ground! The ship had more or less fallen from the sky and drilled itself into the rock. Kind of a strange way of landing, if you ask me. The ship is about one hundred meters long. It’s probably manned with Frigonans, but we don’t know that for sure. We secured the tube system, nobody will get through!« the team leader reported.
»Well done!« Tor praised his team and signaled the Guardian Angels.
»Batu was right! We’ll encounter them inside the tunnel system when they come!«
I don’t feel the cold
Gabriel Touns gasped for air as he regained consciousness. His lungs burnt like fire. As if in panic, he threw his arms around, trying to increase the flow of air into his lungs. He coughed hard and secreted a stream of clear fluid. It took him several minutes of hacking coughing until he regained a relative stable rhythm. The suffocating feeling was over. Horrified he looked at his blue swollen hands; they seemed to be covered with frost bites. Further self-examination revealed that he had needle marks all over his body, places where the parasites had stung him. There were, however, no Frigonans clinging to him.
Touns rubbed his hands and wondered that he didn’t feel any pain. It was bitter cold according to his suit instruments. The heating system of his spacesuit had failed miserably. Somebody moaned and groaned. He turned his head and saw his comrade.
»Heavens, Berga! You don’t look good!« he addressed his partner with a hoarse voice. He felt a strange, sharp taste in his mouth, which probably came from the clear liquid from his lungs.
Berga was in the same situation. His lips were blue, his face was pale. His spacesuit was shredded. It was clear that the life-support system was no longer working. Berga’s body was riddled with scratches and prick marks. The Frigonans seemed to have treated him the same way as Touns.
»What did these bastards do to us?« Berga complained and tried to get up, but failed.
»They came over us,« Touns moaned as he remembered the moments.
»They probably gave us a hint at what the new relations with us will look like,« Berga mocked. »We can’t trust them! Who knows how long we were unconscious inside the hangar. They had all the time in the world to take manipulate us. Look … everywhere these prick marks! Where are we, anyway? Did they just stun us and then abandon us in the hangar? What sense does that make?«
Berga was very afraid.
»You don’t need to worry,« the female voice sounded again from an elevated position.
As Touns looked up, he saw Uma Boos sitting on a large block of ice, just touching the floor with her feet. She had watched the two men.
»We landed on Triton and are preparing for contact with your leaders.«
Touns wiped over his eyebrows which where covered with ice-crystals.
»You lied to us! You said that we won’t be harmed. These beasts jumped and stunned us! What did they do to us? I can’t remember a thing.«
»You were sleeping during the flight. We didn’t want to excite you too much.«
Touns looked at Berga and began examining his back. He couldn’t find any parasites, but more and more prick woun
ds.
»You’re alive and well!« the ice-beauty explained and slid down from the ice block. Seconds later, she was standing before Touns who suspiciously eyed the Frigonans on her body.
»Do you like what you see?« she asked with a deep voice, which made Touns step back.
He swallowed hard. The numerous bluish wounds on her naked body were a shocking sight.
»You once were a beautiful woman, if that’s what you’re after,« Touns replied chokingly.
»I still am!« she replied self-assured, looking deep into Touns eyes.
Touns held his breath. Her eyes were dull, no sign of life or warmth in them. Fine ice-crystals grew from her tear ducts. Her eyeballs shimmered dark blue. She looked like a dead person. The Frigonans on her body began shivering as Touns came closer to her.
»What did you do to us when we were unconscious?« he wanted to know. »Once you also were a Human and became the victim of these beings. Help us! Let us return to our former lives! The Solar Union will certainly appreciate this gesture. There’re ways to get along with each other. We don’t need to rage war!«
The woman’s face showed a range of emotions, then she displayed a warm smile. She stepped closer to Touns, took his head in her hands and gave him an icy kiss on his forehead.
Touns was surprised and staggered for a moment.
»We’ll let you go, the Circle generals guarantee it,« she explained and pointed behind herself where a Moxantan jumped from the ice blocks. As the being hit the floor, his legs absorbed the kinetic energy like a rubber band.
Uma Boss’ smile had turned into an ice-cold grimace.
»You’ve probably guessed it already, I’m Circle General Destroyer. General Executioner and General Mindbreaker are also here.«
Three Quadranans joined them, all holding hands, like little children.
Touns had heard of them … nothing good, unfortunately.
»This Circle ship serves as an envoy and landed about forty minutes ago near the North pole of this moon. Your base probably detected us,« General Destroyer snarled. »We took over this moon and this system before …«
NEBULAR Collection 6 - The Great Tremor: Episodes 27 - 30 Page 5
