Ep.#9 - "Resistance" (20 page)

“We should hide and wait for them to pass,” Major Waddell urged. “Our mission is to get you to the Aurora to speak with Captain Scott.”

“I am well aware of our priorities,” Garrett insisted, a determined expression on his face. “I have been at this for many years.” Before the major could respond, Garrett turned and disappeared into the woods.

“Damn it,” the major said under his breath. He looked around, quickly sizing up the area as he tried to decide if Garrett’s tactics were sound. “Follow me,” he instructed Loki as he left the trail and set off into the surrounding forest. “Be careful not to disturb anything or leave any footprints as we leave the trail,” he added. “They would reveal our presence to the Jung.”

CHAPTER SIX

Tony pulled the van off the main roadway, heading down the side road that led to the small airport.

“What is this place?” Synda wondered.

“It’s an airport,” Tony said.

“Duh,” she answered. “I figured that much out.”

“Doesn’t look like it gets used much,” Jessica said.

They passed through the main entrance to the airport and turned to the right, staying along the outside edge of the tarmac. There were a dozen small airplanes as well as a few suborbital shuttles that had seen better days. Most of the tires on the airplanes were nearly flat, and their wings and fuselages were covered with dust. Several overhead lights burned along the outer perimeter of the tarmac as well as along the row of hangars on the far side.

“Someone must still use it,” Synda commented. “They’ve still got power out here.”

“The lights are solar.” Jessica pointed to panels above each light. “Panels on top, big fat bases on the bottom to hold the batteries. Pretty common out in the middle of nowhere like this.”

“They were probably installed long ago,” Tony commented. “Nobody has bothered to turn them off, I guess.”

“Odd place for a rendezvous, isn’t it?” Synda wondered.

“Not really,” Jessica said. “Wide open, you can see someone coming from all directions and from at least a kilometer away, and it is in the middle of nowhere.”

Tony brought the van to a stop. “So, are we just supposed to sit here and wait?”

“There was one last number in the message,” Jessica said. “Eighteen.” She looked around. “How many hangars do you think there are over there?”

“At least thirty,” Tony said.

“Let’s go check out hangar eighteen,” Jessica suggested as she turned and headed toward the back of the van.

Tony turned off the engine and exited the van, joining Jessica as she came around from the back. They walked down the line of aircraft toward the hangars in the distance.

“Some of these planes are older than I am,” Synda commented.

“Way older,” Tony added.

Jessica crouched down, checking underneath the row of planes just in case.

“What are you doing?” Synda asked.

“Just checking for boots where they shouldn’t be,” Jessica answered.

“See any?”

She shook her head. “Nope.”

They continued on, reaching the row of aircraft hangars a few minutes later. Jessica pulled out her flashlight and pinched it between her thumb and forefinger, shining it on the top of the hangar doors to check the numbers. “One.” She shined the light across the tarmac at the first hangar in the other row. “Twenty.” Jessica moved out toward the middle between the rows of hangars as she continued down the row. Hangar two was to her left, then hangar nineteen to her right. “There it is, eighteen,” she announced as she pointed her flashlight at the number above the hangar door. She twisted the doorknob and found it unlocked. She pushed the door inward and stepped inside.

The hangar was dark, empty, and just as dusty as the planes outside. There were several large crates lying about, some under protective covers. Jessica continued deeper into the hangar, shining her light from side to side as she examined the empty building. Tony and Synda followed her closely.

“It looks like there is nobody here,” Synda said. “Maybe we’re early.”

“No, we’re right on time,” Jessica said. “They’re probably watching us from somewhere, waiting to see what we do. The whole hangar may even be bugged.”

“So what do we do?” Tony asked.

“We wait,” Jessica said.

“Where does that door go?” Synda asked, pointing to the door on the far wall.

“The next hangar, maybe?” Tony suggested.

“I thought they were all separate.”

“A storeroom?”

“Might as well take a look,” Jessica said. She walked over and tested the doorknob, finding it unlocked as well. She opened the door and stepped through. She found herself in another hangar, only this one was not empty.

Jessica pointed her light at the unusual ship. It was large, barely able to fit in the hangar. It was painted flat black and had strange markings on the side. It had four massive engines, one on each corner of its rectangular fuselage. They appeared to be gimbaled and were all currently oriented with their thrust ports pointing straight down. “What the hell is this?”

Tony came in just behind Jessica, stopping dead in his tracks as he saw the ship. “Oh, fuck,” he said.

Jessica spun around, shining the light at Tony’s face. His complexion had gone pale and fear had filled his eyes. “What?”

“That’s a Jung combat lander,” Tony said, his voice almost a whisper.

Jessica spun back around, looking at the markings on the side of the ship again. They looked remarkably similar to those on the credit chips in her pocket, as well as those she had seen on the Jung gunboat over four months ago. “Fuck.” She turned back around and pushed Tony toward the door behind him. “Time to go.”

Synda screamed as hangar eighteen filled with the sound of scuffling boots and a display of red, laser-sighting dots dancing across the floors and walls. The dots quickly found their way to her head and chest.

Tony emerged from the doorway a moment later as several more red dots found his chest. “What the…”

“Get down!” Jessica ordered as she came from behind them, her stolen Jung weapon in her hand. The red dots found her body just as quickly. As she charged forward and brought her weapon up, she heard several soft pops, like shots of compressed air. She felt a sudden stinging sensation in her right thigh, then another in her belly, followed by one more in her right shoulder. Her right hand went limp, and her weapon fell free. She felt her legs giving up on her as she fell forward. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Tony going down in similar fashion.

Jessica hit the floor hard, smacking her face against the cold, smooth hangar floor. She blacked out for a second, then her vision returned. A myriad of black boots scuffled about in front of her face, blocking her view of Synda lying a few meters away. A moment later, someone was pulling a cloth bag over her head and binding her hands and feet. She tried with all her might to resist, but her arms and legs were not responding. She was limp and completely helpless, paralyzed by whatever nerve agent they had shot her with from a distance.

Jessica’s mind raced as several men scooped her up and carried her into the other hangar. She could hear turbines turning over. She could hear hangar doors being rolled open. What she didn’t hear was anyone speaking—not in Jung, not in English, nothing.

Jessica felt herself being lifted up into what she assumed was the Jung ship they had seen in the next hangar. The engines rapidly came to life, rising in pitch in near unison. She felt another body being placed on the floor of the ship next to her. The body didn’t move at first but then jiggled slightly as another body was placed next to it. The other two bodies had to be Tony and Synda. Jessica was sure of it.

She could feel the ship rolling out of the hangar. A moment later, the side door of the ship slammed shut, and the noise of the four turbines was dramatically reduced. A low rumble began to build, and she felt the ship lift upward as it took off. Then she felt another pinprick. This time it was in her left thigh. Her head began to swim. She could feel herself losing consciousness. She struggled to stay awake, trying to pick up any information she could: their direction, the amount of time in flight, changes in altitude, anything that might be useful. Her head was spinning even faster with each passing moment, and within seconds, she was unconscious.

* * *

Major Waddell and Loki crouched behind a cluster of rocks perched on a small rise along the forest bed. The trail they had been using was only ten meters away, and the major could just make out the heads of lead members of the Jung patrol as they came around the turn in the distance.

Major Waddell could also see Garrett perched about eight meters behind a large, fallen tree on the far side of the trail. His weapon was held close to his body, and he appeared ready for action. The major hoped Garrett would be wise enough to wait and see if the patrol passed without noticing them. Major Waddell’s orders were clear, and he intended to follow them.

One by one, the Jung troops came around the bend in the trail, moving closer to Garrett and Waddell with each step. The Jung were dressed in uniforms and body armor painted with colors similar to those found in the forest around them. Each of them carried an energy rifle, a sidearm, and a combat knife. They also carried small backpacks with stubby black antennas sticking out of them. The packs were connected to their helmets with small, coiled wires. Oddly enough, the Jung soldiers appeared relaxed and confident, as if they expected no danger. One of them even pulled a snack out of the side pouch hanging on his utility belt.

Major Waddell glanced over at Garrett’s position, being careful to remain low and out of sight of the approaching soldiers. Garrett appeared to be tensing up as if getting ready for action. Waddell glanced at Loki, who was squatting on the ground behind the rocks next to the major and staying low and completely out of sight. Loki had no interest in watching the Jung troops as they approached—so little interest, in fact, that he was facing the opposite direction with his eyes closed.

The group of six Jung soldiers passed their position. As they did so, Garrett rose from behind the fallen tree he had been using as cover and raised his weapon as if preparing to fire. Major Waddell watched Garrett with both astonishment and concern as he wondered if the man were really that stupid.

Garrett took aim at the departing soldiers, forcing Waddell to do the same. The major’s eyes continuously darted back and forth from his weapon scope trained on the Jung soldier closest to him, to Garrett on the other side of the trail.

Garrett continued to stand motionless, his rifle trained on the departing Jung soldiers, until they disappeared around the next turn in the trail. Once they were gone, he lowered his rifle and settled back down behind his fallen tree.

Major Waddell looked at Garrett, a puzzled expression on his face, and settled back down behind his own cover.

Loki sensed the major settling back down next to him and opened his eyes. He, too, got a confused look on his face. “What’s happening?” he whispered almost inaudibly. “Are they gone?”

“Yes,” the major whispered back.

Loki’s eyes looked left and right, his expression becoming even more confused. “Then why are we still sitting here?”

“Because Garrett has chosen to remain hidden as well.”

“You think he knows something we don’t?” Loki asked, continuing in the same hushed tones.

“I suspect he is waiting to make sure the patrol does not double back,” the major said. “We will remain hidden for now.”

“Okay by me,” Loki whispered.

They continued to wait for several more minutes. Palmot and his cohort appeared on the trail from the same direction that the Jung patrol had originally come. Major Waddell looked over at Garrett, who stood up from behind his cover and appeared much more relaxed. As he stepped out from behind the fallen tree, he waved at Major Waddell to come out from his hiding place as well.

“Come,” the major told Loki as he rose.

“They’re gone?” Loki asked.

“Apparently so.”

Loki followed Major Waddell to join Garrett and the others on the trail.

“I apologize for the delay,” Garrett told him as they approached. “I was waiting for my men to return. I sent them well behind the patrol to ensure there was not a second contingent following on the same trail. It is another tactic they sometimes use.”

“I assumed you had good reason to remain hidden,” the major said. “I also assume it is safe to continue toward the extraction point.”

“Yes, we still have some distance to travel.” Garrett spoke commands to his men in his language. Palmot headed back up the trail to take point as the other man moved behind them to assume a rear-guard position. “Shall we?” Garrett invited, gesturing for them to proceed.

Loki started down the trail again with Major Waddell stepping in behind him next to Garrett.

“Do you see many patrols this deep into the canyons?” the major asked.

“Once, maybe twice, per week the Jung patrol the loop,” Garrett explained.

“The loop?” the major asked.

“This trail goes down this side of the canyon, for several kilometers. Eventually the terrain becomes impassable, and the trail turns eastward, crosses the river over a footbridge, then comes back along the far side of the canyon toward the valley.”

“Seems odd to patrol a wilderness area so frequently.”

“Not really,” Garrett explained. “We routinely set up fake encampments just off these trails. It leads the Jung to believe that the resistance lives in the wilderness and not in the towns. That is why we usually wear dirty clothing that appears well worn.”

“To give the impression that you live in the woods,” the major surmised.

“Precisely.”

“And this works?”

“So far,” Garrett said. “We even engage them in the woods on occasion, just to make them think they are accomplishing something.”

“That’s what I thought you were about to do with
that
patrol,” the major admitted.

“That would threaten today’s mission,” Garrett explained, “and as I said, I very much want to meet this Captain Scott, the man who defeated twenty warships with but a single ship.”

“That’s good to know. For a moment, I was sure you were going to attack them.”

“Yes, well, I very much wanted to, I must admit. It would have been an easy kill. They were quite relaxed, probably because they have not been challenged out here in many weeks.”

“How long have your people been running this deception?” the major asked.

“For over a decade now,” Garrett said. “Ever since the Jung invaded our world.”

“So you
are
from this world?”

“I am, yes, but many are not. Many were brought here from other worlds as laborers.”

“How many men have you lost running this game?”

“There have been many, I admit,” Garrett said, melancholy in his voice. “We take such risks, however, knowing that the ongoing deception keeps our families safer than they would otherwise be.”

“How so?” the major asked.

“As long as the Jung believe that the resistance lives in the canyons, their suspicions are diverted from those living in the valley.”

“But these dead men of yours, surely the Jung can identify at least some of them. Would that not lead them back to the valley?”

“We do not leave our fallen behind for the Jung to identify.”

“And this actually works?” the major asked, finding it difficult to believe.

“Not completely,” Garrett admitted. “The Jung still conduct random searches in the cities and villages of the valley. However, they are few and far between, and we are quite careful not to provide them with evidence to support any suspicions.”