Talosian Chronicles 5: Raptor Squadron (32 page)

"Yeah? And just who the fuck are you, dick-head?" the Deputy Sheriff asked.

"I am Admiral Ian Williams of the Terran Defense Force. My family and I are here on vacation and have diplomatic immunity. The woman you are trying to stop is a member of my family," Ian replied and slowly reached for his passport and diplomatic documents.

"Uh huh, I ain't never heard of a twenty-year-old Admiral. Besides why would they even bother coming back to the planet? The government would only capture them to force them to give up their tech secrets!" the Deputy replied, snarling.

Ian chuckled and shook his head. "The man on the ground is a US Navy SEAL who was attempting to do just that. We wear protective shields that bullets bounce off of. He didn't believe that and tried to shoot me in the back, the bullet hit the shield and… well," Ian indicated the man on the ground.

"Uh huh, if he's a SEAL, where is the rest of his team?" the deputy asked sarcastically.

"Two of them got tased and are right there," Ian said pointing to the other two men. "The rest are trying to figure out how to capture the ship we used to arrive here."

"Then you've lost your ship spaceman; that's what those men do," the Deputy chuckled. "Okay, I've heard enough of this bullshit, on your knees and put your hands on your head, kid. You're under arrest for obstructing justice."

Ian shook his head. "Deputy, I think you should call for the Sheriff."

"So now you're gonna tell me how to do my job?" the man asked. "Look, just get on your knees before I have to force you."

"That would be a bad idea, Deputy. For one, there are several cameras filming us right now. For another, it would violate our treaty more than has already been done," Ian explained. "And I don't think our bodyguards would be very comfortable with that."

"What Bodyguards?" the Deputy asked and sudden got very nervous.

"They're right here, but both are only carrying tasers," Ian replied, pointing to Sam and then to Shannon.

"Okay, the big guy I can believe, but that little girl is a bodyguard? Please!" the Deputy said. "She's what? Maybe sixteen years old?"

"Excuse me Deputy, but I am actually twenty-two. I was also first in my class in hand to hand combat at the academy and I have been trained as a combat sniper and small weapons specialist," Shannon replied as she slowly approached the two men. She looked at Ian, "Admiral, Major Williams has subdued the two snipers and is currently taking them back to their companions. Sasha will remain in position in the event further over-watch is required."

"Okay, this is a major cluster-fuck. All of you; nobody try to leave the area!" the deputy said and keyed the mic at his neck. "Patrol Six to County One."

"County One, what's up Stiles?" a woman's voice replied.

"Ma'am, I'm at the resort call. There has been a shooting but the situation is calm. I need help over here, one of the parties involved is claiming diplomatic immunity and has requested your presence, over," the Deputy replied.

"It sounds like you have a situation. Don't do anything until we arrive. The military is involved with this. I just got a call from some big-wig that only wants us to try to contain the situation until they can arrive to deal with it. Try to keep everyone there and calm, we're on our way," the woman replied. "Just don't shoot anyone before we get there, okay?"

Ian grinned at the blushing Deputy. "I'll try real hard Ma'am, but there is one guy who's really asking for it!" Stiles replied, sarcastically. "Just kidding, Ma'am. He's a smart ass, but he seems harmless."

"Well, if his name is Ian Williams, make damn sure you don't shoot him! There'd likely end up being a crater where this state used to be!" The woman replied. Ian could hear the sirens in the background of her transmission.

"Do you know him, Ma'am? Do you know his age?" Stiles asked.

"Not his exact age, no. I do know he's really young; early to mid-twenties. Treat him with respect, Stiles; he's an Admiral in the Terran Space Navy, over."

"Understood Ma'am. I'll introduce you to him when you get here," Stiles replied.

"Well shit! We're ten minutes out, just keep everything under control until we arrive. County One out," the woman finished.

Stiles looked back at Ian. "You're really him and this is for real, isn't it?"

Ian nodded. "Unfortunately, it is, Deputy. I'm sorry for all the trouble. We'll assist you as much as we can, just let us know what you may need," Ian looked back at Shannon. "Officer Shannon, inform the Major to assist local law enforcement within reason. Use of deadly force is
not
authorized."

Shannon bobbed her head. "Yes Admiral." She moved away to make the call to Cindy.

The Deputy just shook his head and sighed. "I don't get paid enough for this shit."

"Okay, so any idea how we get through this shield so we can get to the ship?" Lieutenant Forbes asked the other two officers standing with him.

They were just about to answer when two toboggans coasted into the clearing seemingly under their own power. But what got everyone upset was what they carried.

Each of the sleds held the unmoving form of the SEAL team snipers.

"Archie! Will! Check them!" the lieutenant ordered.

"They're only stunned Lieutenant. They'll wake up in a few minutes with a slight headache," a slightly mechanical voice was heard to say. Off to one side, a large suit of what looked like armor straight out of a kid's video game shimmered into view. "I am Major Cindy Williams, Commander of the ship you are trying to steal. I would not recommend firing your weapons at me, since I am protected against them and you would risk injuring your own men."

The commandos quickly surrounded her and all of them had their weapons trained on her. "Don't move bitch!" one of them said to her. She turned slightly to look at the man.

"Corporal, I am not a female dog, nor am I threatening any of you. I am trying very hard to respect you and your ranks, I expect the same courtesy," Cindy replied.

"That's enough, Corporal. She's right; be nice," the Lieutenant ordered. "However, I'm afraid we have to insist that you surrender yourself and your equipment immediately, Major."

Cindy nodded. "May I ask on whose authority you are currently acting, Lieutenant? Because the United States government signed a treaty with us that would prevent stunts like this."

"I'm afraid you are mistaken Major. All of our orders come from the United States Government through our chain of command. As such, and by that authority, I am placing you under arrest pending an investigation into your terroristic activities within the borders of the United States," The officer replied.

"What activities would those be, Lieutenant? You see, I've only just returned to this star system. I'm supposed to be enjoying a vacation with my family after a stressful mission in which I lost a team member. If someone has told you we have been performing terroristic attacks here, then I'm afraid you have been misinformed. Until a few days ago, my team and I were over forty light years away from here," Cindy replied.

"That may be so, Major, but it just isn't my call. I have orders to arrest you and all those with you, and I will follow my orders," the man replied.

"That's good to know, Lieutenant," Cindy replied. "Because right now, my commanders are talking to your commanders to get this ironed out before someone else gets hurt."

"I'd like to know how you shot one of our men, Major?" another officer asked.

"We didn't," Cindy replied holding her hands out to her sides. "We have a type of energy shield that repels bullets. When your man tried to shoot Admiral Williams, the bullet bounced back into him. He is currently undergoing emergency surgery to save his life. I don't know the details, but I remember something about a perforated intestine or something. No matter what, stomach wounds are the worst."

"I can agree with that. If that is what you are really doing to him, then I thank you for it. However, that doesn't change the fact that we are arresting you. So put your weapons on the ground, remove the armor or whatever that is and we won't have to use force," the original Lieutenant said.

"Lieutenant, I'm not carrying any weapons; the treaty prohibits all lethal weapons. We are allowed to have and wear our defensive systems such as the suit I am wearing. Besides, I'm naked under here and I'd really rather not freeze my ass off in the snow. As for surrendering, I cannot do that either. At present we are at a standoff; your weapons cannot harm me in any way. As far as the ship goes, even if you had a way to actually move it, you'd never get through the shields," Cindy explained.

"We have you, we can force you to fly it," the other officer said.

Cindy removed her helmet and looked him sadly. "You were dropped on your head as a baby, right?"

The officer shot his silenced pistol at her head and the bullet was deflected up and away from the other soldiers. Cindy snorted. "Fucking Idiot! How did you ever get to be an officer? You could have killed one of your own men!"

"He's not an officer, he's a civilian," the Lieutenant said. "It does indeed look as though we are at a stalemate Major. We cannot leave because of our orders and you will not surrender. What do you suggest?"

Cindy shrugged. "It looks like we get to sit here until your orders get changed. You guys hungry; I can call for lunch? I heard there is a really awesome pizza place here."

"We're here to capture or kill you and your offering to buy us lunch?" the Lieutenant asked.

"Ell-tee, I have nothing against you or your men. You've never been, and I doubt you ever will, be my enemy. Like me, you're just following orders. We're both kinda stuck, so why not have lunch while we're waiting? I could get it from the ship, but I don't think you guys would trust it, so I'll buy it from a store in town." She grinned. "Besides, I can always justify the expense under 'diplomatic negotiations'."

"We just tried to kill you and you're offering to buy us lunch?" another man asked.

Cindy smiled at him. "I refuse to hold your orders against you. This fuck up isn't your fault, well, it might be some of his fault," she said and pointed to the asshole that tried to shoot her. "But the rest of you are simply doing what good soldiers do. Why should I be pissed off over that?"

"Well, I think I would be a little less than charitable towards someone that just tried to kill me, but hey, I'm funny that way," the man said.

Cindy nodded to him. "If there was even a chance that he could have hurt me, I doubt I would be as forgiving. What you guys don't understand, or maybe you weren't told, is our gear is designed to fight battles in space; against lasers, particle cannons, plasma guns and whole range of other high-tech shit that you just don't have access to here. You can't even gas me because the suit has its own air supply."

"Yeah, but how long will that last for you? We force you to seal up and sooner or later, you'll need to resupply your tanks," the asshole said.

Cindy shook her head. "No I don't; I could very easily spend the rest of my very long life in this suit and never have to take it off, refill any tanks, or even replace the batteries - because it doesn't have any."

"We'll get you out of that suit, as soon as we capture the rest of the people you have down here. You'll do exactly what we tell you to do," the asshole replied confidently.

"Really? You mean the people that are right now surrounded by civilians with cell phones that are recording the entire event? The same ones that are talking to the local police while our doctor works to save the lives of one of your men?" Cindy asked sarcastically. "The same folks that are wearing shields that prevent you from even touching them? Just how do you suppose you're going to capture them?" Cindy shook her head. "Look, Agent Smith, or whoever the fuck you are, you've been trying everything you could think of to get your hands on our tech for the last two years. Even when you did manage to get your hands on some advanced alien tech, we just took it away from you without hurting anyone. Why are you idiots still trying?"

"Because you'll eventually make a mistake, and we'll get all of you traitors back in line and under fucking control like you should have been to begin with!" the man spat.

Cindy slowly sat down on the snow. "Did you know that any of you, well maybe not Agent Smith there, can now buy a commercial ticket to visit the moon base or even the planet Atlas in the Centauri system? Our Council is allowing tourism!" She grinned. "But let me give you a little bit of a reality check 'Smith'. For the sake of argument, let's say you did manage to get your hands on some of our stuff; let's say you did manage to get my ship. Do you honestly think we would let you keep it?"

"Like you'd have a choice! First, you'd have to find it!" the man replied. "Then, even if you did, you'd have to get through a lot of defenses! No, we'd never let you have it back."

"Really? So you just
gave
us those Caldarian ships you tried to capture in the battle last year?" Cindy asked. "You have no idea what technology we have or how we're able to keep track of it. You couldn't even so much as steal a pistol from us and hide it so well we couldn't find it."

"We don't have to steal the pistol, we just have to steal the designs. You can't track that," Smith replied.

Cindy nodded. "I wouldn't be so sure about that, Smith. Anyway, Lieutenant, how about that Pizza? I'm getting hungry."

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Raptors
Dynasty
,
Acadia
,
Gothem
,
Ithica

Deep Space, Echelon System

Contested Space, Alliance Border

"Major we are showing small power readings in the old prison. It may well be that Pirates have indeed taken up residence here," Alicia, the Dynasty AI reported.

"Well, that should make this a tad more interesting. Thomas, Cathy, should we clean them out, or just ignore them for the time being?" Carl asked.