by Terry Mixon
Using only night-vision goggles, it was impossible to tell if any of the figures were Asharim. They’d have to wait until daylight to look over the corpses and wounded to see if they’d laid their hands on one of the mystical alien overlords.
Right now, he had a hill to secure. “How does the tunnel look?” he asked over the com.
One of the New Zealanders responded at once. “Pretty solid. It looks like it could do with a bit more support in a couple of places, but I’ll be able to get my guys on that as soon as the main forces are out on the surface. Shouldn’t take me more than twenty minutes to be completely confident of the work. These aliens knew what they were doing.”
Already, the rest of the New Zealanders were pouring out behind Krueger’s team. They spread out, going up the hill and off to the sides. Their orders were to make certain that the hilltop was secure and to push back any intruders. By dawn, Harry wanted to be in complete control of this hill.
Going from memory and drone records, he and Krueger had worked out where to place heavy weapons and anti-aircraft guns to command all approaches to the hillside. By dawn, if they held on, the aliens would have a difficult time retaking the hill without the use of high-tech weaponry.
Of course, if anyone had access to high-tech weaponry, it would be the Asharim. Personally, Harry doubted they had a lot in reserve. Otherwise they’d have used it to attack the Volunteers. That was the threat that kept coming back to haunt them year after year, so if they had the ability to do so, they would’ve stopped them long ago.
Not that he was counting on that. He actually planned for them to have a cache of alien weapons that could set him back on his heels. That way, if that ever happened, he’d be ready. If it didn’t, they were in even better shape than he’d hoped.
If things actually went according to plan, they’d have the hilltop secured within the hour and have settled the heavy weapons emplacements in less than an hour. Then they’d dig in and prepare to repel any counterattacks.
The dark was the perfect time to launch those attacks, based on the behavior Harry had seen and been told about by the aliens. Unfortunately for the Asharim, Krueger and his people would quickly be bringing through large drones, assembling them on the hilltop, and launching them. Unlike their smaller brethren, these could stay in the air for a long time and were visually undetectable at any real range.
As they were armed, any grouping of aliens that looked like officers could be taken out before the primitives realized they were in danger. That would really screw with their command and control. They’d also see any large-scale attacks coming a long time in advance. Those could be harassed by the airborne drones, which would then return to the hill to be refueled and rearmed.
Honestly, Harry hoped it didn’t come to that. If he had to, he’d kill as many aliens as he needed to in order to secure both this hillside and the gates in the city itself, but negotiation was a much better option.
He hoped that after his troops had occupied this hillside, the Asharim would send a delegation to talk. If they started talking, some kind of compromise could probably be worked out.
Of course, from what they’d discovered on the crown of the hill the last time, Krueger was convinced that the Asharim performed human sacrifice there. If there was some type of religious component to this, finding a reasonable solution was going to be much more difficult.
He hoped it didn’t come to “kill them all and let their gods sort them out,” but that was still the most likely outcome to this war.
Well, no matter how things eventually worked out, right now he needed to focus on securing the hill so that the remainder of the troops and their equipment could be brought in and set up. Only once that was done could he start seriously worrying about what came next.
23
Jess discovered that taking off from a planet was significantly easier than landing. Even though her mind seemed to have all the required skills, that was very reassuring.
Once she’d come to an agreement with the high priest, they’d returned to their lander with one addition and a few subtractions. Vidar had asked to leave his two associates behind to continue telling the priests the story of how things had gone so wrong but had offered to bring his daughter along to see the world that they had tried to conquer.
Of course, they wouldn’t be seeing it for a while. They’d be going directly to the New Zealand base and then straight through to Volunteer World.
She’d called ahead to make absolutely certain that Harry was ready for her and her guests. He’d said to bring them along and that they had the hill secure, at least for the moment. Her partner seemed to think that allowing the heavy-worlders to see his troops in action would be educational and give them additional reasons why they shouldn’t come looking for a fight.
Jess didn’t think he understood the heavy-worlders as well as he thought. These folks were not afraid to fight when they thought the situation warranted it. They weren’t the kind of people that intimidated easily.
The trip up to the station went without a hitch. This time she decided not to stop there but did give it a close pass to make sure that her guests saw what was above their world.
“I did not get such a good look at this the last time,” Vidar said in a low voice. “We traveled up the space elevator and then took a small craft out to the ship that Kathleen Bennett controlled. From there, we used a gate to travel to Earth. The view was far too short for me to truly comprehend what I was seeing.”
Jess nodded. “Is this something that the Masters built, or was it built by the people of this world? Who were they, by the way? This is obviously not a heavy-worlder planet.”
The large man shrugged slightly. “I am not certain. This world once held many species. The Masters decreed which of them were present and in what number. I am uncertain that anyone truly remembers what species had come first.
“It is possible that the Masters developed this world for use as an administrative center where no species had been present before. They were very capable terraformers and could shape marginal worlds into paradises. Of course, they reserved their greatest efforts for low-gravity planets that mirrored their own home world.”
“Does anyone know where their home world is or how to get there?” Jess asked. “We captured a lot of information, but I don’t recall having seen anything that identified what world they came from.”
Vidar smiled. “Whether I knew that information or not, I suspect my answer would be the same. I cannot tell you. The Masters are the Masters. Until the high priest determines that we are no longer bound by their dictates, we could not betray them to you.
“However, I will point out that we have been trapped here for almost a millennium. Such knowledge, particularly when gate access has been cut off, would be lost fairly quickly. As a warrior, I would never have needed such information in the first place.
“Perhaps the high priest could find it, but he would not tell you any more than I would. Not unless he determines that it is in the best interests of the People.”
Jess nodded, understanding where he was coming from. She set the shuttle into a gentle arc coming around the station toward the massive gate in the side of the station hosting the space elevator, having to dodge a small piece of debris.
That reminded her that she wanted a much better idea of what the area around the station looked like after the small nuke had taken out the warship Kathleen Bennett had commandeered. The desire to take that looked prompted her hands to dance over the controls, and some kind of scanner activated.
The data that filled the screen over her head was alien—literally—to her, but she smiled as the meaning of the various bits started making sense. Interestingly, the debris was gathered a short distance away from the station in a small area enclosed in some kind of energy field. That explained why the station was intact but not why the space there was restricted.
It took a few moments to locate what was creating the energy field. There were dozens of spheres g
lobing the area, and they had contained the shrapnel from the blast. Jess wasn’t sure how, and as an engineer she really wanted to take the time to explore that angle but didn’t have time.
The scanners didn’t have much range beyond the general area, but she could also see a number of what she guessed were real ships at the edge of her detection range, orbiting almost around the curve of the planet. One of them was significantly larger than the others. She longed to go see what she’d discovered, but she had more pressing matters on her plate.
Being certain to shield her hand from Vidar’s gaze, she tapped in the address to take them back to the Asharim space station orbiting Earth-B. The gate on the outside of the space elevator station activated, and the small craft edged through.
After a few minutes of maneuvering, she went through the gate on the surface of the dormant comet, and they were inside the landing bay. She killed the gate behind them and started shutting down the lander.
“Welcome to Freedom Express,” she said. “This is one of our bases. From here, we’ll make a transition to another abandoned facility and then on to the world where we found the Asharim.”
That plan lasted approximately two minutes. As soon as they were on the way to the gate room on the dormant comet, she found herself buttonholed by Susanna Adorno and General Norbert Norris. The two of them looked very intent.
“Miss Cook,” Adorno said as she came to a stop in front of Jess. “It is my understanding that your forces have once again opened contact with my world. Is that correct?”
Jess didn’t bother denying it. “That’s right. Harry Rogers just let me know that they were out on the surface of the hill and had pushed the Asharim slaves back down to the plain below. It’s dark there, so they’re planning on maintaining that position until dawn. Then they’ll see what they can do from there.”
“It is urgent that my forces join the attack,” Norris said. “It is our world and our responsibility to be there for our people. We must have a hand in pushing the enemy back and securing the gates inside the city. That was our agreement. Will you honor it?”
As much as she wanted to decline their assistance, she really couldn’t come up with a good justification. The man was right. They’d made a deal. Now that they were actually fighting, she really should allow them to be part of it. Otherwise, the trust they’d built would suffer.
“May I suggest that you lead off with a smaller force?” she suggested. “The situation is still uncertain, and I wouldn’t want you to commit your entire force to an operation where we might be withdrawing come daylight if the fighting goes against us.”
The two glanced at one another and nodded simultaneously.
“That sounds wise,” Norris added. “I’ve taken the liberty of having several of my best squads prepare for battle. I understand that our weapons are not as effective as your own, but it is what we have.
“Now, with your assurances, we will accompany you back to our world and assist in the operation to capture the city. I should warn you that even with your advanced technology, capturing the city will be no easy task. Particularly if you intend to hold it for any length of time. The fighting will be quite intense, growing more so as the enemy brings more of their forces to bear.”
While they’d been talking, Kerrick Vidar and his daughter had been watching quietly from the side. Their expression showed only interest at the strange clothing worn by the Volunteers.
Adorno wore what could only be described as a pirate outfit: tight leather pants, a white shirt with ruffles and long sleeves, and a jacket that hung down to her knees that would be suitable for service aboard a ship. She wore a cutlass on her hip and looked prepared to do battle.
General Norris, on the other hand, was dressed much like one would expect from a fighter in America’s Revolutionary War. His jacket was just as long as hers but seemed more for style and warmth than protection from the elements.
Seeing the opportunity, Jess introduced the two groups to one another. Once names were exchanged and handshakes given, she explained who the heavy-worlders were.
“Kerrick Vidar and his daughter Vera are descendants of the Asharim warriors. We found them on a world where the aliens abandoned them almost a thousand years ago. We’re still negotiating to see if we can form an alliance, but they are coming along so that they can observe the current condition of the Asharim civilization.”
Adorno’s eyes narrowed. “I have heard something of your people. Great fighters, very strong, and loyal to the end and beyond. Many of the other human colonies speak of your kind in the legends. It is said that you were once human like me. Is that true?”
Jess translated her words.
Kerrick Vidar shrugged slightly. “Considering how alike our two peoples are, I am inclined to accept that we were once raised from the same stock. Others have told us that we are modified humans, but the source was suspect. Now? I personally believe it to be so, though I have no proof.
“As for my people, we are very loyal. When the Masters command us to fight, we fight. At least that is how it used to be, before the Masters left us separated from the home that we came from. Now the People live on a world of light gravity and have lost the way back to our home with true gravity.
“It is my intent as the leader of the warrior faction of our people to see what the condition of the Masters is. If it is true that they have fallen, it is uncertain that the priests will feel the obligation to follow any orders given by them. I warn you, though I have given my parole and my daughter is acting under the terms of truce agreed to by Miss Cook, if the priests determine that we should go to war, we may yet be enemies.”
“I’m not certain we should jump to the conclusion that that is the inevitable outcome,” Jess said quickly. “Let’s look on the bright side. We could come into this as enemies and leave as friends. That would be the preferable outcome.”
She passed Vidar’s words to Adorno and then looked at General Norris. “General, how long will it take you to prepare your people?”
The man smiled, his resemblance to George Washington very spooky to her once again. “They stand prepared in the gate room. As soon as we arrive, they will be ready to depart.”
“Then let’s go,” Jess said as she walked forward and found a lift to take them to the gate room. Just a few minutes later, she was dialing their destination on a handheld pad.
“The base on the other end of this gate is protected by armed guards that are unaware of our impending arrival,” she warned. “I’ll go through first and make certain that there are no misunderstandings.”
The guards on the other end recognized her once she’d opened the gate and stepped through and lowered their weapons. She informed them that there was a large number of troops coming through and going to Volunteer World.
They didn’t put up any argument.
When they’d first found the base in New Zealand, only one of the three gates at the bottom level had had power. That was still true, but in reality, there was only one gate there now. Kevin McHugh’s people had mostly disassembled the other two gates and were removing them.
Once Humanity Unlimited set up a base somewhere in the United States, they’d put those gates in so that they could have access to the greater universe. Without power, they weren’t doing any good here.
Frankly, the New Zealand base was pretty much a write-off. The shell was good in most places, but it was going to take a lot of work to make it operational again. They just didn’t have time for that right now.
They also didn’t have time to try to set up a base in the United States. They had to go about it nice and slow, or the US government would figure out where they were. Even though they were supposed to be allies, she had no doubt that Secretary of State Queen would take those gates in a heartbeat.
If that happened, a bunch of arrogant fools would find themselves in far over their heads with the universe at large and humanity would be in terrible danger. Neither she nor Harry was prepared to allow that to hap
pen.
Pulling her mind away from problems that she couldn’t solve at the moment, she used the tethered controller to activate the gate going to Volunteer World. From this side of the gate in New Zealand, it was impossible to open any other gate because of what the engineers had done to make it work back when the base had fallen.
Once the gate was stable, Jess began moving the Volunteer troops through. Harry was going to be surprised. Hopefully, he wouldn’t be mad. In any case, there was nothing either of them could do about it. They’d made a deal. She just had to hope that it worked out for the best.
24
Brenda and her people searched for the base computer to isolate it before they tried bringing main power back online. That proved unnecessary. They found where the computer should have been, but it was gone. Not erased but physically removed.
In fact, someone had gone to the trouble of taking every bit of data storage in the facility, so far as she could tell from spot checking. The various offices were neatly cleaned and empty. No paper, no data chips, nothing.
The power center, on the other hand, was completely intact. All of the power cubes were in place, and only the massive breakers were turned off. It took several people each to get the breakers turned back on, but as soon as they did, the overhead lights came on and the life-support system came back to… well, life.
The gate room was a real surprise, mainly because it wasn’t a single room at all. The Asharim basic floorplan called for a large area serviced by three gates. This facility had three exceptionally large gate rooms, each serviced by three gates, connected by a cavernous chamber servicing all of the gate rooms.
Brenda stood in the center of the massive space and swiveled her head around. From where she was standing, she could look into the three adjacent gate rooms and see all nine of the gates.
