by Mel Todd
"They've done that before?"
"Three times. All with worlds that had civilizations strong enough to fight them but didn't have an active space presence. One of them was my world." There should have been anger, regret, sorrow, some strong and deep emotion in those words but there wasn't. He made the comment as it if had happened so long ago the event no longer had any emotion attached to it.
"I'm sorry?"
"For? Never mind. This is wasting time. Listen. I've put a transmitter in all the shuttles that go down to your area of your world. You need to get into the shuttle and find the transmitter. It is small, and most of them I have hidden under seats. Tell your AI to look for this frequency. 2.36 mHz. It will only pulse once every thirty to forty-five of your minutes randomly to prevent anyone from noticing it. Most shuttles are supposed to stay on the ground for about 66 of your minutes, so you won't have long. You must find one of those transmitters and activate it. That will enable help to find you. "I can't guarantee all of them will have the transmitter, but I'll try. And in your area is a rough term. Your country is much larger than most. "
"Help? There is someone that can help us?" She waited for the spurt of adrenaline.
"I have to go. Find the transmitter and turn it on. You might be the only, the best hope for all of us. Now go, and by the Stars of Alara don't get yourself killed."
There was a weird jolt, and she found herself sitting up on the cot wide awake, looking around. The room had a low level light on in it, and three other people were asleep on the cots. She rolled out and went into the main area, Perc sat there, reading a book. McKenna dropped down next to him.
~Wefor, was that a dream? Were you there?~ She could feel others paying attention, which was why she had broadcast like that.
[Your query is not understood.]
~Huh, so that didn't register.~ Trying to make her words as descriptive as possible she relayed what Ash had said and the weird frequency he had said to tell Wefor to monitor.
~What help could he be talking about?~ Cass wondered. She wasn't in the room, but McKenna could sense her and JD not too far away.
~I don't know, but should I do it? Should I go find that transmitter?~ It seemed like all her decisions were wrong lately, and she didn't want to risk any more lives.
~Absolutely.~ Toni's voice was firm. ~If they start dropping asteroids, our world is dead. Get the transmitter. If it is a trap, then it really doesn't matter given what the alternative is.~
McKenna glanced at Perc. He nodded and took her hand. "Yes. We'll find it."
Chapter 42 - Glimmer of Hope
The US is currently under martial law. All human shifters in warrior form are warned to wear earrings, bright colors, and make sure they are with people who know them. Aliens have been seen descending into most cities and shuttles are lifting up hourly with captured shifters. While attempts are being made to shoot them while they are coming in, efforts to shoot departing shuttles have stopped as the only people being killed are ours. The HALO (high altitude low opening) like drops are almost impossible to intercept with how our defenses are set and the Elentrin ships are too high up in orbit to be easily targeted. ~ TNN News
McKenna never went back to bed, her mind pulling apart each detail of the vision, what Ash had said. Wefor had no opinion, or at least not that the AI would share.
When morning showed up, she approached the de facto leader of their motley crew. About her age, the Captain, one Mark Alfonso formerly of Los Angeles, hid gang tattoos under his uniform. But he had a good eye for small squad tactics, which McKenna knew nothing about.
"Morning, Miss Largo. Any chance I can convince you and your people to head back home and hide out while the professionals take care of this?" His tone indicated he knew the answer, but from the hopeful look on his face she suspected someone up the chain had pressured him to ask.
"Hide in a corner hoping the monsters don't come after me?" she asked with a smirk. "Thanks, but no. But I do have a new mission, I guess you could say."
He sighed and sat down at his makeshift desk. The area had been the back hallway some smaller strip malls had. A folding table, a laptop, paper maps of the area and scribbled notes covered it.
"What exactly would that be?" He didn't sound excited but more resigned.
"Let me guess. You've been instructed to give me all possible aid and protect me at all costs."
"No matter how odd or strange the request might be," he said, almost smiling. "So what is this weird mission? And how many people are going to die?"
McKenna flinched at that and some of her good mood faded, Caroline's face flashing back before her. "Hopefully none, though it might take a day or two."
Captain Alfonso leaned back in his chair with a long suffering look. "Details."
"I need to see if I can get into one of those shuttles, possibly a few of them." Saying it out loud made her realize how insane it sounded. But she didn't have any other ideas, and if the news reports were correct, they didn't have many other options.
"The same shuttles that are remote-operated and could take you up to the ships above if they take off while you're in it." He paused, his brows drawn together, and he made a note on a pad, chewing his lip. After a minute he focused back on her. "That shuttle?"
"Yes. There's a possibility we have a friend among the Elentrin." She jerked her head up, but she kept her voice low. Tempers were high, and even alluding to this might be too much. "If that's true, there might be something on one of the shuttles that can help."
The captain sat up straight looking at her, eyes serious.
~For a young man he sure is suspicious. I thought military guys were supposed to be all gung-ho about jumping into danger.~ She commented, a bit wry, not sure how she'd explain all of this without sounding like a loon.
~Nope. That's the Marines. The Army considers things, then kills them.~ JD responded instantly, and McKenna had to resist rolling her eyes, the poor Captain wouldn't understand why.
"And why can't I or one of my guys get it?"
"I suspect I'm the only one that can find it or even figure out where it is. I could be wrong, but why risk anyone on what I may or may not know?" McKenna kept her voice logical though she tensed. This meant more than he could possibly know. Or she'd die horribly.
"They told me to support you no matter how crazy your request was. Okay. But I'll be damned if I go down in history as the one that let McKenna Largo get killed. I'm sending four of my best with your little group. The two of you aren't too bad. The other two are better as support. They don't shoot first and worry about it later."
~He has a point.~ Cass sighed. ~At the compound I didn't have time to think, and really I didn't do it as much as training. I can kill, I will, but it takes me building myself up to do it. If you wait that long I'll get you all killed.~
McKenna ducked her head. "Good. Use us. That, and we can heal from stuff faster than you."
Mark Alfonso shrugged. "Outside a burn, if they hit you with those damn rifles you tend to die. Unless you're telling me you can heal from that. If that were the case, I'd be asking you to change all of us." His voice had a bit of bitterness to it, and she flinched.
"No. Caroline was a shifter, and you can't heal from that. Only the minor stuff."
"Then it doesn't matter. Learn to duck. I'll have you going out soon. Any idea where a shuttle will land?"
"No. Only that I can figure out if what I need is on them."
"Then I'll add suspected shuttle landing locations and have them feed that down to us. One thing about this, it doesn't seem to occur to them to knock out our intelligence. Their orbit is too high to affect most satellites, so we still can see what's going on as they come down. I should be able to get us feeds for anything in a fifty-mile radius."
McKenna paused, remembering Ash's comment. "Can you make it a hundred-mile radius?"
He shot her an odd look then shrugged. "Your mission." He typed on his tablet then nodded at her. "Meet them out back in twenty. Get ammo and gear up. And
make sure your shots count."
~Wefor, what is your range on that frequency?~ In this area it could take two hours to travel sixty miles, especially if it wasn't along freeway lines.
[At least twenty-five miles in this terrain. But be aware with a single alert we may not get there once it is detected prior to the shuttle lifting again.]
~We'll have to make it work. We need to find this. You guys hear that, ready to go?~
~Kenna?~ Cass's voice had a tentative quality to it.
~Yeah?~ McKenna frowned, she worried about the woman. Cass wasn't passive, but this actively going out to kill people—even aliens—made her uncomfortable.
~They don't have a medic here and my training is translating correctly. I'd prefer to stay and help with first aid. I'm better than anyone they have and they're still bringing in shifters that have been stunned or whatever it is.~
McKenna wanted to sag in relief. The matching relief from JD almost took her knees out from under her, and she staggered, leaning against the wall.
~That sounds like a great idea. I'll let the captain know. You two ready?~ She hated to admit how much she depended on JD and Perc, but their warrior forms were so huge it helped with getting people out of danger.~
~Yes.~ JD's voice rumbled in her mind and she turned to see the captain looking at her, an odd look on his face.
"Cass is going to stay and help you guys with medical stuff. So just me, JD, and Perc. That work?"
He cast a quick glance at all of them, but nodded. "Probably better. Those two take up more than their fair share of room in the back of a Humvee."
"True, but they're also damn useful to have around."
"There is that. I'll let the guys know." He dismissed her from his attention with one last sharp glance.
~Word about the telepathy is going to get out, you know,~ JD commented.
~Oh, well. That's their problem. I don't care if other people create the links as long as I'm not expected to carry everyone in my brain,~ she commented, heading back to use the restroom before they took off. Most of what she needed she had in her kilt pockets.
Two minutes before the deadline she showed up at the back of the building. Two young men who looked like they'd aged years in the last few days, leaned against the vehicle. One with skin the color of paste mixed with red dye, the other had skin that blended in with the tan paint of the Humvee.
"So hear you're the boss." The pale burnt kid had the name Lawson stenciled on his uniform.
"Boss? No way. I'll defer to your expertise. This is not anything I have training for."
[That is not accurate. You have both the information programmed into the nanobots and the sleep training to rely on.]
~That is not the same as actual training, and besides, these guys need to know I'm not going to take over. I don't need to be in charge of everything.~
The two men relaxed fractionally even as McKenna swore she could feel the AI pout.
"Well, then, ma'am, what is the mission?" Lawson asked, while the other kid, and they felt so young to her, climbed into the vehicle.
"We're going to track down shuttles. Looking for something specific." Perc and JD were getting in and arranging themselves.
He looked at her dubiously then waved his hand dismissively. "Ours is not to reason why," he muttered.
"I would really prefer it if we do, and do NOT die if it's all the same to you." McKenna smiled to take the sting out of her words. He flinched back a bit, and she remembered she was still in warrior form and a smile might not be reassuring. That made her want to smile more, but she fought it down.
"Sorry, I might be in this form too much. But yeah, no dying."
"That's my preference. I assume we're fine to take out and prevent any kidnappings?" His words had a layer of aggression there.
"Absolutely. Given that I'm hoping we're targeting shuttles, maybe we can interfere with some of return of prisoners. If were really lucky maybe we can get one landing and prevent any losses before they even get out of the shuttle."
A wolfish grin split his face. "Now that sounds like a plan, ma'am. Load on up and let's go invader hunting."
The soldier didn't flinch away from her smile this time. A few minutes later they were headed out. JD standing up, looking out the top to see if they could see any Kaylid on the street.
Lawson called back to her, "We've got a report of a shuttle headed down about fifteen clicks to the south. That one work for you?"
"Won't know until we get there. We might as well see if we can interact."
"Yes, ma'am."
~Ooh, getting ma'am'd now,~ JD teased.
McKenna didn't bother to look at him, she knew he'd smirk. Instead she focused on listening to the soldiers talk. A third sat in back with them. An older man who didn't open his eyes or anything, just let his body rock back and forth as they sped down roads.
"Got it. Just landed. If we move, we can get them as they're disembarking. On me." The orders were barked out, and McKenna followed, spilling out of the vehicle, and headed to the edge of a building. The shuttle had landed in a playground, the ramp already down as they peered around.
"They out already?" asked the older man, an M-16 in his hand and crouched in front of her.
"Don't know. They can't say for sure how long it's been down, below radar at this level. Wait, no, two more coming out now. Can you take them at the edge of the playground, Reg?" Lawson kept his voice low as the aliens moved towards the edge of the park, their weapons up and looking around.
"Yes, just waiting."
McKenna saw their ears twitch and ice clawed through her insides. ~We never told them how good our hearing is in this form, they're expecting human-level hearing. Shit and I can't tell them or they'll know. JD, are you at an angle you can take them out?~
~Yes, when they turn, I'll fire if you and Perc can grab our companions and yank them back, they are damn fast in firing.~
~Got it,~ she answered, and Perc confirmed. They shifted position a bit so Perc could grab two of them, and she could grab the third.
Chapter 43 - Hope made real
The events happening in Istanbul and Shanghai are well known at this point. The estimated death toll in Istanbul has risen to over a hundred thousand, and bodies are starting to rot in the heat. There has been fighting from all sides, and the dead lay mingled together. The number of people abducted from here is still unknown and may never be known as the ability to identify the dead has faded in the need to dispose of the bodies before disease sets in. Already the sound of flies can drown out the sound of gunfire. This is the worst sustained fighting seen since World War II. The city may never recover. ~ TNN Breaking News
~Now!~ Even as he said it, JD stepped out, the M-16 barking out loud cracks of sound that echoed between the buildings. As the word had entered their mind, Perc grabbed the two soldiers throwing them backwards almost as McKenna grabbed the one in front of her, pulling him to the side and out of the way.
Even as JD had stepped out, the aliens spun their weapons firing as they turned. The red light splashed across the corner they had been around, then tilted up.
"They're down," JD announced, lowering his rifle and turning to look at them. The two Perc had grabbed and thrown were shaking their heads, a bit stunned and out of breath. Lawson, who McKenna had grabbed, glared up at her.
"What the hell was that all about, Largo?" Anger coated his tone as he surged to his feet. He didn't quite tower over her warrior form, but he was taller than she, even if she'd been human.
"We hear really well in this form. Like if I concentrate I can get Reg's heartbeat. They heard you talking, and we realized you didn't know. It was the only way we could think of to not warn them and keep you all alive. I won't apologize for grabbing you, but people need to know they hear like a literal animal. You could never sneak up on a stalking cat, and the same goes with these guys. Radio traffic they can hear. All the agents I've been around have been using earpieces. If I want, I can hear both sides of those conv
ersations. We just work on not listening and forgot they wouldn't be doing the same." She met his eyes as she talked, refusing to be cowed.
He glared at her, then at the shuttle and his men and cussed. "That explains a lot, and we should have thought about that. It's fucking obvious when you say it. Can you get what you need out of that shuttle?"
~Wefor?~
[Unknown. No signal has been detected.]
~Do I dare go see if I can search it?~
~I don't think we should take the risk until we know it is in there. Heck, even then I'm not sure you should be the one doing it. Let's wait and decide then.~ Perc's voice had a tightness to it that made McKenna glance over at him. He looked at the playground and the dead bodies laying there, and for a moment McKenna thought she'd be sick.
This isn't how it is supposed to be. I'll do anything to stop this. If I have to die to stop this, I will.
A mix of emotions swarmed her, and she locked them down. Sharing them would not be wise, not now. Lawson came back, a dark look on his face. "That information has been shared out. It would explain why few of our ambushes have worked. Thanks," his voice grudging. "So does it have what you need?"
"We don't know. So for now we sit and watch and wait."
They collected the bodies after making sure there weren't any more beings inside, there was a place they were all being sent, they did sit and watch. The shuttle took off without any captured people, living invaders, or the signal being sent.
"I guess no? Next one then?"
"Yes, please." McKenna responded. They spent the rest of the day chasing shuttles but none of them sent out the signal Wefor monitored for.
Headed back to the headquarters, she checked up on everyone, the jolting of the vehicle almost comforting by this time.
~How are you doing?~ She directed it towards Toni and the kids.
~Fine, bored but fine,~ Toni responded. ~Only one sighting and a cop took it out. They have the cops on bicycles, it's quieter and they can cover areas pretty fast. Though I might kill my children if they don't stop whining about staying in animal form.~
