by Terry Mixon
The woman turned slightly and looked Jess’s party over. “If we proceed immediately, we can arrive at the temple about an hour before dark. While it is safe enough to travel after dark, it is perhaps unwise to risk any misunderstandings when we don’t know one another.”
“How are we going to do this?” Jess asked.
“You have given your word to abide by the rules of parley, so I alone will accompany you to the temple. My squad will continue their watch here.”
Jess turned to Sandra. “Form up in whatever order you think best, and I’ll keep her with me. If we need to change course, I’ll give you a signal over the radio.”
“Are we going to keep going forward?” the sniper asked.
The woman nodded once Jess had translated the question. “The temple is not directly ahead but is in that general direction. As we come closer, I will announce any changes in course long before we are ready to make them.”
As Sandra organized her people and prepared to set out again, Jess extended a hand to the heavy-worlder woman. “My name is Jess Cook. What shall I call you?”
“My name is Vera Vidar. Your prisoner is my father.”
Well, that certainly had the potential to complicate matters.
“I’m surprised that you’re being so restrained,” Jess admitted. “Aren’t you worried about him?”
The woman laughed. “My father is a warrior, as am I. Either one of us—or both of us together—could die in battle at any time. Such is the life of the People.
“I can see that he is in good health and not under duress, and that is enough for me. You can remove his shackles, if you like. He has given his word. He will not attempt to escape your control.”
At her gesture, the guards removed the shackles from the three prisoners, though Jess could see their uncertainty about whether that was a good idea.
Kerrick Vidar rubbed his wrists and smiled at his daughter. “It is good to see you again, Vera. What has transpired in my absence?”
She shrugged. “Very little. With the majority of the priesthood gone, we have carried on with our lives while awaiting word of your return. I confess that I did not expect you to return defeated, though. Are these Earth people great warriors?”
The large man laughed. “They defeated us, so I would say yes. I commend their bravery under fire. The words of Kathleen Bennett have proven false. This world called Earth was not nearly so ready for picking as she led us to believe before her death.”
Vidar looked at Jess for a long moment before nodding as if to confirm something he had been thinking. “In fact, I think our failure to form a bridgehead on their world may have been a great stroke of luck for us. The story of what happened to the Masters seems more complicated than we would have believed possible, and it is time for us to determine what our place in the universe truly is.”
Now if only Jess could convince their priesthood of that fact. These people would make great allies but getting them on board would take a lot of work. She didn’t imagine convincing a dogmatic religious leadership to abandon their reverence of a long-fallen alien race would be easy.
If she could do it, Earth would benefit. If she failed, the war was only beginning.
Queen sat in the chair normally reserved for the US ambassador and listened to Harry Rogers layout everything he’d found in the solar system, except for the frozen version of Earth out beyond Pluto and the secret society of heavy-worlder descendants. Or, he noted wryly, the descendants of the regular humans that Brenda Cabot led.
The man was a surprisingly good public speaker. His cadence and delivery seem practiced and easy, and he never missed an opportunity to engage with his audience using a glance here and a nod there.
The crowd seemed even more uncertain than they had during Queen’s speech the day before. They’d had time to think about what they’d been told, and it was obvious to him that many had decided that they were being sold a bill of goods.
That was until Rogers brought out his bag of tricks. One of the items inside it was a small sphere that looked almost like a glob of liquid mercury the size of his fist. It was shiny and drew the eye. It certainly did so when Rogers released it and it stayed hovering there in midair with no obvious support.
“I’m sure that many of you view this as a magic trick,” Roger said with a hint of humor in his voice. “It’s not. This is a toy that uses antigravity to remain unsupported in the air. I won’t pretend that I understand how that works in a technical sense, but I can make use of it. I’m sure each of you can see the implications as well.
“Perhaps some of you have heard about how I arrived this morning in an alien ship that made no sound. It uses a propulsion system like this built on a large scale. It’s capable of going from Earth to Mars far more quickly than I was able to in the ship my father cobbled together.
“I’d be happy to give each and every one of you a tour of a ship just like that. Not personally, because I’ve got a lot of things that I need to be doing to protect us from the Asharim and heavy-worlders that serve them, but I’d be more than happy to make a ship available to ferry you around the planet and back to your home countries.
“Hell, they can even take you around the moon before returning you here or there. That should prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that this technology is real.”
He fell silent for a short time, looking over them one final time before he continued. “Make no mistake, we are not alone in the universe. We never have been. We’ve allowed ourselves to fall into the trap of believing that we humans are the center of the universe. That we are the only intelligent life in all of space.
“I suppose that’s understandable. We’ve listened for the inevitable sound of other life from the first moment we were able to do so. Unfortunately, due to the distances involved and the technologies being used, we’ve failed to hear what’s been going on all around us.
“A thousand years ago, we were visited by an alien species that took people from our world and changed them in ways that we cannot begin to understand. The Asharim saw us as primitive tools that they could use to enhance their society. We all know what the word to describe that is: slavery.
“Unless you’d like to see all of humanity enslaved by the next group of aliens that comes along with that kind of urge, we’ve got to get ready. We have to be able to defend ourselves.”
Queen found himself nodding. This was what he’d been saying since he’d discovered what was going on, but no one had listened to him. Well, they’d listened and then proceeded to do whatever they thought was best.
Perhaps now he could convince the alliance that it was time to allow the United States to play a more important—a leading—role in the conflict. They just didn’t have the resources or experience for a fight like this. His country did.
Or they would as soon as Queen spoke with the president and started the process of getting the money that he needed to start rebuilding the military and bulking up the science groups that they could call on.
Oh, he realized that wasn’t going to be a quick process, but if he didn’t get it started now, they’d never finish in time to do any good. Sadly, Rogers was right when he said that the US military was in a shambles. They had far more people than Rogers did, but they probably weren’t of the caliber needed to fight an enemy like the Asharim or the heavy-worlders.
Though Queen would never admit it, Rogers and people like Commander Krueger were the right people to lead this fight. They had the skills and tenacity to win against the superior technology they’d be facing. For at least the time being, Queen wouldn’t contest Rogers being in command of the military contingent.
In fact, Rogers might be able to collect a crew of highly skilled warriors that the United States military had let go over the last decade. They wouldn’t trust the government because of how they’d been treated, but they’d trust someone like Rogers. He had the kind of reputation that was needed to create what amounted to the largest mercenary force in existence.
Wh
at had he called his organization? A private military company? With the blessing of the United States government, he could grow that small group while adding elements from both inside and outside the US military and even other countries.
Queen would have to keep a very close eye on Rogers, because that was the kind of power that allowed someone to conquer the world, but the man already had access to the kind of technology that could do that, even with his small number of troops.
Just one look at the ship he’d arrived in would convince anyone of that. It was far faster than anything the US possessed, and it was stealthed to the point that their radar hadn’t even picked it up right over New York City. It was basically invisible, other than being in plain sight. A fleet of ships like that could destroy any resistance.
Yet he was certain that wasn’t what Rogers had in mind. He wasn’t the kind of person that wanted to rule the world. Rather, he was the kind of man that humanity needed to lead it into battle against alien hordes.
Of course, Queen would continue to do whatever he could to get an edge for his country. The United States would not play second fiddle to anyone for one moment longer than it had to. With this kind of technology, they would once again be the leading power on Earth.
Now, perhaps even the universe. He’d certainly do everything he could to make that into reality.
And that meant figuring out how to take down Chen and his genetically enhanced supermen. Rogers was an idiot to think that he could intimidate those people into dropping their war against the US or trying to take him out.
The Chinese might publicly stop their posturing, but they’d keep striking from the shadows, just as they had when they’d destroyed Area 51. Queen couldn’t allow that to pass, but he had to keep his actions below the threshold that would start up the overt fighting again.
He grinned to himself. He knew just how to make them squirm while making sure they couldn’t actually prove he was responsible. Time for some payback.
18
Brenda woke as the lid to the sarcophagus slid away, and she blinked up into the florescent lights mounted in the ceiling. It took her a moment to remember how she’d gotten inside it, but her confusion passed quickly, and she sat up to take stock of her body.
She’d kept herself in good shape over the years, but it was still easy to note how her skin had tightened and her flesh had firmed after the treatment. The body of a fit woman in her early forties was certainly different than one in her mid-twenties, which was what she seemed to be blessed with now.
She stretched her back and was pleased to note that the low-level pain along her spine and lower back was gone. That was one hell of a perk, because being an FBI agent meant stressing your body in ways that were detrimental to your long-term health and comfort.
Knowing that it probably wouldn’t be long before the boys came back, she climbed out and redressed herself. Based on how her bra fit, she’d need to buy some new ones. She suspected Karl would approve of the changes. She certainly did.
One perk of being in good shape before the event was that her outer clothes still fit, so she wouldn’t need to completely update her wardrobe. Though, if she wanted to blend in with the people around her, she’d do so anyway. A woman in her twenties that dressed as if she were almost two decades older stood out, and not in a good way.
Once she’d dressed, she walked over to the table and picked up several printouts in the Asharim language that they’d been using to test Karl’s new skills with. She’d been able to read the language before, but it had been a struggle. She’d had to work hard to comprehend the meaning of many words because the language was complex and sometimes maddeningly obtuse.
Now she found she could read the papers with ease. The meanings of the words and phrases were so much clearer than they had been before. That meant that whatever education this machine had been designed to perform on her had worked.
From what Brenda had understood, Jess had been able to utilize some of the equipment that the Asharim had designed. In fact, she’d flown one of their ships. Brenda hoped that she could do the same, because that would be really fun.
She checked her watch and found that only two and a half hours had passed. That was a little bit less than it had taken Karl, so the machine must’ve had to do some extra work inside him because of damage from wounds he’d suffered in combat.
Speaking of that, she checked where she’d been winged during a hostage rescue situation a few years ago and found that the wound was completely gone. It hadn’t really pained her that much because it had only been a graze, but the scarred skin was now smooth and unblemished. That was amazing.
There was a knock at the door, and it slid open a crack to reveal Todd Granger’s face. Once he saw her, the door opened wider. “Ah, I see you’re awake. How are you feeling? Do you mind if we both come in, or would you rather just have me for the first part?”
“You can both come in.”
Todd pushed the door open and came inside with Karl at his heels.
“How are you feeling?” Karl asked. “Like a new woman?”
“Like a younger woman,” she corrected. “One who hasn’t been banged up nearly as much by life. Though, I suspect, you had a lot more repairs than I did.”
She smiled at him and switched to the heavy-worlder language. “Let’s see if this works. Holy crap, I’m really speaking an alien language.”
His eyes widened slightly. “And I’m understanding it. That’s just freaky. I knew after reading the papers that I could, but that’s not quite the same thing as having a conversation in a language you’ve never dealt with before. It’s kind of scary how they can implant that sort of thing directly into your brain.”
“It’s still a mystery to us as well,” she said. “Have you had a chance to go test out some of your other skills?”
“I went down to the secret range you guys have rigged up in the basement, and I gave one of the flechette pistols a try. Using one is a lot like using a regular pistol, but there are some individual quirks, and it was as if the required information was implanted straight into my muscle memory.
“It didn’t interfere with the skills I already had, and that seems impossible. How can they implant muscle memory that doesn’t conflict with what you already have?”
She shrugged. “I haven’t got the slightest idea. Their grasp of technology was amazing. How they translated that into the human brain is a mystery that I doubt any of us will ever really understand.
“So what do you think of my offer now? Is this worth keeping the knowledge that we’re searching for the base to yourself for the time being?”
He nodded without hesitation. “I think so. Secretary of State Queen put me into an awkward position when he gave me the orders to be his face in this matter. As anyone in the military can tell you, the United States government is not exactly the most trustworthy of groups. It hasn’t been so in a long time.
“Whatever we find in that base might be too dangerous to allow the United States to possess. The agreement that we signed with the alliance says that we can’t have alien tech with military implications. Until we’re certain what’s down there, I think I should abide by the spirit of the agreement and keep the details to myself. I’ll make a report when I know more.”
Brenda felt herself smiling widely. “That’s just what I was hoping to hear. What say we go ahead and ditch all this testing, gather up a group of people, and go for a hike in Virginia?”
“I’ll need to get some boots and suitable pants, because I’m sure it’s going to be rough, but that sounds great. I’ve got a lot of energy that I want to burn off.”
Her grin turned a bit wicked. “We don’t exactly have to leave this building for that.”
Todd’s eyes rolled upward. “Oh please! Can we keep the bedroom talk to a minimum? This is a professional setting.”
“You don’t have to watch,” she said transferring her “we could” look to the doctor. “Unless that’s your thing.”
&nbs
p; “That’s it,” Granger said repressively, pointing at the door. “Get out of my office. Go do something that isn’t going to scandalize everyone around you.”
She could tell from her friend’s poorly hidden smile that he wasn’t scandalized in the least. Still, she rose to her feet and held out her hand toward the Navy officer.
“Let’s go find out what’s hidden in the hills of Virginia and who might still be working in the area. We know it’s not any of us and we’re certain that it’s not the heavy-worlders, so that means we have a third group in play.
“Or at least we did a few hundred years ago. It’s time to find out what they left behind for us.”
Harry had barely finished his speech when his cell phone rang. He saw that it was Molly Goodwin when he fished it from his pocket and glanced at the screen.
“Hey, Molly. It has to be late there. What’s up?”
“We’ve got a problem,” she said, her voice grim. “A big one. I need you down here as soon as possible.”
“What’s wrong?” he asked as he headed for the assault lander at a jog.
“We’ve been sending people back to Volunteer World to make sure everything stays the same, and they’re telling me they can hear someone digging into the hill. It sounds like shovels and picks, but that means they’re not too far off from getting control of the gate in the cave.”
That wasn’t good. That gate was their only bridgehead on to Volunteer World. If they lost control of it, they wouldn’t be able to access the gates located in the old Asharim city. Without them, they wouldn’t be able to get to the other human colonies that the Volunteers had contact with.
“I can be there in a few hours, though I might be able to make it in less than thirty minutes if I can get Brenda to allow me to use her gate. One way or the other, I’ll be there shortly. Start gathering what troops you can and be ready to repel an incursion.”
As soon as he’d disconnected, he broke into a fast jog and arrived at the assault lander minutes later. The diplomats would have to wait for a second vehicle to arrive to take their joy rides.
