Escape 2: Fight the Aliens (5 page)

“Hoooly shit!” yelled Alicia. “I
like
that ship!”

“Me too,” growled Bob, who looked to Bill. “My friend, please accept the apologies of a chronic skeptic. You’ve convinced me. I volunteer.”

In seconds the same words were repeated by Mark, Howard and Chris.

Bill started walking toward the ramp. “Thanks everyone. I had hoped you all would join me in this wild and dangerous adventure. You’ll love space! And be amazed at the looks of the Alien people who make up our crew. Uh, when we get onboard I’ll introduce you to Builder of Joy. He’s an engineer of the Aelthorp people. They look like giant brown-furred flying squirrels. He’s seen space combat. So treat him with respect.”

“Will do,” Stefano said softly, following close behind Bill.

Together again, the ten of them boarded the
Tall Trees
and headed for space.

CHAPTER FOUR

Bill couldn’t help but grin as his saloon buddies followed him into the Command Bridge of the
Blue Sky
and got their first sight of his Alien crewmates.

“Wow, she’s hot!” muttered Howard as he caught sight of Bright Sparkle’s naked form.

“Bill, you weren’t kidding,” Alicia said softly as she moved up alongside him. “Your crewmates really
do
look like a rainbow woman, a walking snake, a giant worm, a scaly kangaroo and a flying squirrel!”

“Their
names
,” Bill said firmly, “are Bright Sparkle at Fusion Power, Time Marker at Engines, Long Walker at Collector Pods, Wind Swift at Life Support and Lofty Flyer at Navigation.”

His buddies had followed him into the circular chamber of the Command Bridge after leaving Builder of Joy to shut down the transport
Tall Trees
in the Transport Exit Chamber. He’d demonstrated the use of the button-activated red cube to open the hatchway doors that gave access to sections of the left side main hallway. He’d pointed out the eight foot high oval doorways that led into habitat rooms for crew members, then led them through the Command Bridge door and into the yellow-lighted room. They’d passed by the empty seats of the two transport pilots. He’d given a nod to Jane as she sat atop the command pedestal, her hands touching the controls for multiple vertical holos that showed ship status and external sensor inputs. He’d stopped just behind his own Ship Weapons control pillar and seat.

Bright Sparkle looked their way, her hands pausing atop her control pillar for the ship’s three fusion power plants. Her long black hair curled at her shoulders. Her jade green eyes scanned the group. On her left shoulder was the speaker and vidcam unit that translated her color-speech to spoken words. Bands and dots of color moved over her body.

“Welcome Humans of the world Earth,” the unit said. “Thank you for volunteering to travel on our collector pods in the effort to capture the Collector ships.”

“Happy to be aboard, good lady,” Frank said, turning to face the elevated seat of Jane. “Captain Jane Yamaguchi, I’m Gunnery Sergeant Frank Wurtzman, Marine Special Operations, retired. I thought.” The big barrel of a man gave her a wide grin. “Reporting for duty, captain.”

Frank did not salute Jane. But his manner showed his respect for her. Alicia and Stefano quickly repeated Frank’s ‘reporting for duty’ salutation, as did his other buddies.

Jane looked down at them, clearly pleased by their recognition of her being in command. Her dark brown eyes looked over each of his buddies. “I’ve heard many fine stories about you nine, and your active duty service for America. My XO has filled you in on the basics of my plan for fighting these Collector ships and for capturing them by use of collector pods. Thank you for volunteering to serve once more.” She looked at Bill. “XO, the other transport and subs will be arriving in a few minutes. Perhaps our volunteers can check out their personal habitat rooms and get some snacks in the Food Chamber while we handle the arrival of
Talking Skin
?”

Bill understood her point. The bridge crew did not need the distraction of new bioforms when the second transport and two submarines arrived in their orbital vector. “Understood, captain.” He faced the cluster of his nine buddies, who had been looking at his true space holo of Earth as viewed from 200 miles up, the work stations of his crewmates and the moving metal of the chamber’s flexmetal floor as nine seat pillars rose from the gray metal floor, thanks to Star Traveler’s assumption his boarding crews might wish to sit. “People, time for you each to locate your habitat room, dump your travel bag, then get something to eat and drink in the Food Chamber.” The oval hallway door opened and in floated nine hover bots, the silvery balls spreading out as they advanced on forced air repulsion. “Our ship AI, or ship mind, has sent these hover bots to guide you to your rooms. Each hover bot will then take you wherever you wish to go, except for our Engine Chamber and Weapons Chamber. Those locations are off limits unless I am with you.” He smiled at them. “Hope you enjoyed your first ride to orbit! Now go and eat and spend some break time in the Greenery and Water Pool chambers! They are neat places just perfect for R&R in space!”

Everyone looked up as the silvery balls of the hover bots arrived above them. Except for Stefano. Who, after reporting for duty to Jane, had kept his gaze on Bill. He now lifted an eyebrow. It seemed his fellow SEAL had something on his mind. “Stefano, out with it. We will be very busy up here very shortly.”

The man who had earned individual citations in UAV operation, sniper work and advanced demolitions fixed pale brown eyes on him. “Weapons Chief, when do we start training with these taser and laser rifles you mentioned on the ride up here? I’d like to check out those explosive balls you mentioned. And I’d like to see the inside of one of these collector pods that we will be riding in. When?”

Bill smiled inside. His fellow SEAL was one of the three folks that he planned to make a team leader for a boarding pod. Along with Alicia and Frank. He knew the three of them well, knew their combat histories and, most importantly, had confidence in their ability to lead a team in handling unknown combat circumstances. Stefano had just shown his awareness that their arrival aboard the starship was not the time for being a tourist.

“In an hour we will all meet in the Collector Pods Chamber for pod orientation, vacsuit wearing, weapons training, vidcam viewing of mine and Jane’s takeover of this ship, and our tactics in battling the Alien crew of this ship,” Bill said bluntly, aware that Jane was paying attention. “We have 47 hours left until the Collector ships arrive. Believe me, you will welcome some sleep time after I get through with your first training session!”

Frank gave him a thumbs-up. Alicia raised a hand. “Weapons Chief, we each have cellphones. Which I gather will operate from orbit, thanks to your ship boosting our signals. Most of us left family or friends behind. What can we say to them?”

Bill nodded. He’d expected this question to occur on the way up in the transport. But rising through puffy white clouds into the purple sky, then blackness of space had fixated everyone’s attention on the three man-high holos of Earth that Builder of Joy had caused to appear in the central aisle of the transport. “Call them. Tell them the truth, that you are in orbit aboard the American starship
Blue Sky
. After all, everyone has heard President Hartman’s address. They know about Aliens, about this starship and about the Collector ship threat.” He paused, catching the attention of each of them. “No details on the mission. Just mention you are back on active duty. And
no one
chatters to CNN or Aljazeera or the BBC!” His grimace startled them. “Captain Jane speaks for all of us, whether it’s to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to the news media or to the incoming Collector ships. We are fighters! Always have been. Will be again, soon enough.”

Alicia nodded back, her sandy-colored ponytail swinging. “Understood. No boozing. No game playing. No fun times until after we capture these six ships!”

Cassandra gave him a sober look. “Agreed. Fighting comes first. Playing tourist aboard this starship comes after we have captured those six ships!”

Joe, dressed in loose brown coveralls, patted his beer belly. “Guess I will pass on the munchies. Need to lose some weight.”

Bill smiled at the Coast Guard master chief. “Joe, stay healthy and eat what’s needed to fuel your training. And build up energy for the surprise boarding.” He looked over his saloon buddies. “Anyone who wants to exercise can do so in the Collector Pod Chamber, or in your habitat room. If you want a challenge, try calisthenics under two gees of gravity. Tell your hover bot the grav level you want for wherever you are and the ship mind will change it for you.”

“Nice,” grunted Bob as the gray-haired Marine Special Operations vet shouldered his travel bag. “Ready to leave now.”

Bill felt relief that the sardonic Marine was at ease with the Alien crew and with being in orbit. His buddy had long been the chief cynic in the group, but now was not the time for negativity. “Everyone, follow your hover bot out of here. I’ll see you all in an hour in the Collector Pod Chamber.”

His buddies turned away with a wave, a nod, a smile or a determined look, depending on whom he watched. Friday night beer time at Jack’s Deep Six saloon had become something these nine had never expected. He felt pride at how they were adjusting. And how they had reported for duty to the captain of the ship. As the bridge entry door closed behind the last of his friends, he gave Jane a wave, turned, dropped his backpack on the deck floor and sat at his Ship Weapons seat.

Four holos hovered before him, just beyond his Weapons control pillar. On the left was the system graphic holo that showed the six purple dots of the incoming Collector ships, which were somewhere between Pluto and Neptune. To his upper left was the weapons holo. It showed a schematic of the ship’s elongated teardrop, with weapon locations noted and ID’d. There were pairs of high energy CO² gas lasers at the ship’s nose and tail. On the ship’s belly and upper hull were plasma batteries for close-up defense. On the deck under them were electromagnetic railgun launchers for MITV torpedoes. Their final weapon was the single antimatter projector located directly above the Command Bridge. All weapons stations showed Green Operational. He moved to scan the holo at his upper right. This was the true space holo that showed Earth below, space above and stars everywhere. To his right was the comlink holo, which presently showed Jane sitting atop her command pedestal. She gave him a wave, then looked forward.

“Navigator, what is the approach status of
Talking Skin
and the two submarines?” she said, her tone command serious.

The brown-furred shape of Lofty Flyer lifted her prehensile tail and tapped her silvery Navigation pillar. “The transport is rising from the landscape called Naval Station Norfolk, on the eastern coast of the landform called America,” she chittered. “Submarines
USS Minnesota
and
USS Louisiana
are also rising, under the control of their own navigators.” The Aelthorp raised her arms, causing the arm flaps that gave her glide flight to spread out. “Yes!” she said excitedly. “The submarines are moving well on their Magfield drives. My pillar reports Star Traveler is sending each sub’s control tablet the necessary angle and speed to rendezvous with us on our orbital vector. Arrival of all three craft is expected within 18 minutes.”

“Good,” Jane murmured. “Time Marker, how are our own Magfield engines? Are they at full function level?”

“They are,” hissed the black-skinned creature who resembled a walking snake. The yellow electrical nimbus that surrounded their Engines master glowed close to his skin, an indicator he was not worried about anything. “Magfield engines are ready to go to one-tenth lightspeed within 12 seconds. If needed.”

“Thank you,” Jane said, her tone casual even as her posture atop her command pedestal gave the impression of a natural-born commander. “Long Walker, open the Collector Pods Chamber and eject our stealthed drones,” she called to the eight-legged worm. “Target them for the five Lagrange points of the Earth-Moon system. I want electro-optical eyes everywhere!”

“Ejecting drones,” moaned Long Walker from his circular mouth that was filled with dagger-like teeth. His deeply wrinkled head turned toward Jane, two black eyes fixing on her. “More eyes we will have,” he moaned in a guttural voice.

Bill agreed with Jane’s decision. Those points would give them eyes on the opposite side of Earth, between the Earth and Moon, behind the Moon and at two points lying 70 degrees ahead of and behind the Moon’s orbital track. Those spots were orbital ‘parking lots’ where the drones would not have to use power to maintain their positions. He thought the five drones would escape the notice of the Collector ships since the parking spots lay well beyond geosync orbit above Earth. Each drone moved on Magfield power and each had a neutrino comlink to give real-time imagery and sensor reports of everything they could observe in their area of space. The drones had previously proven useful in space combat at Alien star systems. Time for them to help out humanity.

“Life Support,” Jane called to the silver-scaled reptile who resembled a large kangaroo. “Adjust ship’s life support to accommodate 19 additional oxy-breathers. Feed extra carbon dioxide to the trees and plants in the Greenery Chamber.”

“Adjusting life support outputs,” Wind Swift barked as she leaned forward to tap on her control pillar with one hand. Four scaled fingers danced across the pillar top. The Cheelan’s horse-like head looked back at Jane, two red eyes blinking slowly. “Captain of the ship, will more Human bipeds board this ship from the submarines? If so, we may need to electrosynthesize more oxygen from our water reserves.”

Jane shook her head, a gesture understood by all their crewmates. “Nope. The sub crews will stay aboard their ships. But we now have nine new humans from Bill’s saloon friends, and ten more to arrive on the transport that carries nine boarding members and the Chief of Naval Operations.”

“Understood,” the reptilian kangaroo said, turning to face her own holos at her station. She pulled a tech device from a belt pouch, looked at it, then stored it. Her knee-length skirt bunched up over scaly knees. “Air pressure is normal and oxygen content remains at 22 percent,” Wind Swift barked low.