Wings of Steele - Destination Unknown (Book 1) (73 page)

"And?"

"I
was doing my job before," stated Duncan. "I took my orders
with
faith
and executed them to the best of my abilities, with intelligence and
integrity. But it's obvious to me the Vice Admiral was mistaken. You
are no more criminals or pirates than I. In fact, I see the same
qualities I saw in my father... and my father was a good man."

"And
what if we have to defend ourselves from the UFW before we can
straighten
this all out?"
If
we can straighten this all out, thought Jack.

Ensign
Taylor considered this for a minute, it wasn't something
he'd
honestly thought of before. "Well, I feel at home here. And
you're closer to being
my
people
than anyone could ever be. So if you say defend, then I defend. If
my brother was here, I think he would feel the same." He
pinched his lower lip for a second then continued with his eyes
closed, reciting from memory, "Defend what you know in your
heart to be right and let no other deprive you of your given
freedoms with false claims of what is just or unjust." Duncan
opened his eyes again. "A man named Voorlak told me that. I
think he was a Wiseman of some kind..."

Jack's
eyes widened then crinkled at the corners as he smiled.
"Indeed!"
Will
wonders never cease
,
thought Jack. He adjusted the helmet sitting in his lap and offered
his hand to the Ensign. "Welcome to the
Freedom
Fighters
,
Mr. Taylor."

■ ■ ■

Paul,
his helmet tucked under one arm, pulled on his gloves as
he
walked across the flight deck next to Jack. "Didn't think you'd
be flyin' for a while yet..."

Jack
shrugged as he pulled on his own gloves. "I was starting to
go
stir crazy, I need to get out."

Paul
nodded. "Yeah, I know... it'll do you some good. So, you're
going
to let the kid fly, huh?"

Anyone
good enough for Voorlak is aces with me
,
thought Jack. "Yeah,
why
not, seems like a good kid. By the way, I didn't see LaNareef at
briefing, where is he?"

"No
idea," said Paul. "He's acting a little weird too. Do
yourself a
favor,
Jack, keep an eye on him when he's around. Don't turn your back on
him."

Steele
paused while he slid his helmet on then continued to walk.
"What's
his problem anyway?"

"I
don't know," said Paul, "I just don't trust him."
They stopped
at
the ladder to the cockpit of Jack's Lancia and Paul turned as Ensign
Taylor emerged from the ready room in flight gear. "Pretty
amazing, huh?"

"What?"
said Jack, missing the left turn of the conversation.

"The
kid," said Paul.

Jack
glanced at the approaching Ensign then back to Paul. "What
about
him?" asked Jack.

"Well,
his dad being Lieutenant Charles Taylor," said Paul, as Jack
turned
away.

"So?
Who's Charles Taylor?" asked Jack absentmindedly as he checked
his
fighter.

Paul
sighed. "Lieutenant Charles C. Taylor, December 5th 1945. He
was
the Flight leader of Flight 19." He watched Jack's blank look
and continued. "A flight of five Navy Avenger torpedo bombers,
departs from Ft. Lauderdale Naval Air Station about two in the
afternoon for practice bombing and navigational exercises... and
disappears over the Bermuda Triangle... A Martin Mariner PBM Flying
Boat disappears the same day searching for them. A total of six
planes and twenty seven men in a space of about four or five
hours... Stop me when any of this rings a bell."

Jack
was staring wide-eyed at him now. He had remembered reading
that
story as well as dozens of others, the topic had always fascinated
him. "You're kidding!" Paul was shaking his head no.
"Jesus..." said Jack, straightening up. "And he spent
his life fighting for the UFW..." he pulled his helmet off and
shook his head. "It makes you wonder how many of us are really
out here..."

"It
makes
me
wonder if these disappearances are more on purpose than
by
accident," said Paul.

"Because
so many of them are military," said Jack, catching up. "Like
they're
looking for special people..." His voice trailed off,
remembering what Alité said Voorlak had told her about him
being special.

"Right,"
confirmed Paul. "Warriors, leaders..."

"What
about the regular abductions?" interrupted Jack. "The
regular
people
who get taken away and returned?"

Paul
slid his helmet on. "I haven't figured that out yet. Maybe
they're
trying to figure out how to breed their own warriors. I remember
reading about abductees recalling medical exams and even sexual
encounters."

Jack
put his helmet back on. "Y'know, I always used to wonder about
that
stuff before... but now, so much makes sense..."

"I
know what you mean," said Paul heading for his own fighter. "I
know
what you mean..."

As
Jack climbed the ladder to his cockpit, he decided it would be
something
to ask the Professor about. If anybody would know more about
personal abductions, it would probably be Walt.

■ ■ ■

"Sure,"
said Walt leaning back in the sofa and lighting his pipe. "I
know
exactly who you're talking about." He watched the smoke curl
away, and Jack came back from the bar with two full drinks and
handed one to Paul.

Brian
paced around Jack's quarters like a caged animal. "Sit down,"
said
Mike, "your're driving me crazy."

"Sorry."
Brian plopped himself onto the sofa on the other end from
the
Professor next to Derrik.

"You
were about to say who," prompted Paul.

"Ah,
yes. Well, it's got to be the Acrilee and the Baltec, doesn't
it."
It was a statement, not a question. "Except the poor sods who
get snatched would never know that, of course. They look so much
alike, nobody ever notices their physique is different. They just
remember the triangular faces, gray-green skin, big black almond
shaped eyes... the standard rubbish you generally hear." He
puffed on his pipe, the smoke was sweet and aromatic. "Occasionally
there are reports on more, but since they may not coincide with what
is believed to be the norm, they are discounted as a hoax or a lie,
when it's simply a different species."

"I
don't get it," said Brian. "From everything I've read,
they're
either
the typical
little
green men
,
like three feet tall or something, or their tall and really skinny.
Which is it?"

"Both,"
said the Professor, expelling smoke from his mouth. "That's
just
what I was trying to explain to you..."

"Well
then," interrupted Mike, "why can't we... you, they,
whomever
is
being abducted, just smack the little suckers in the mouth and walk
off? Why are we... they, you know what I mean, why are humans so
powerless to resist abduction?"

Walt
had ceased his puffing and lifted an eyebrow. "Why did you say
we?"

Mike
shrugged, "I dunno'."

"I
think you do," said Walt, setting the smoldering pipe in an
ashtray.
"Come here." Mike hesitated and glanced at the others.
"Come here, lad," said Walt in a fatherly fashion. Mike
rose obediently and moved around the coffee table, where the
Professor had him sit on the sofa with his back to him. "Hmmm,"
said Walt. He inspected the back of Mike's head where the spine
connected to the skull. "Ahhh, just as I thought." He
parted Mike's hair to reveal a mole about four millimeters across.

"It's
a mole," said Paul, moving closer.

"Not
bloody likely," said Walt. "It's a homing beacon. Under
the skin
just
beneath it is a control chip about the size of your little
fingernail. First abductions are done as children. The chips are to
locate and control after adulthood so they can harvest when they're
ready. To them, the human male is like a gorilla is to you. Without
the control chip, you could simply rip them limb from limb."

Jack
cleared his throat. "I'm almost afraid to ask, but what do they
harvest?"

"It's
harmless really," began Walt, "at least physically.
Mentally
it
scars some people who begin to remember when the chip's power runs
low, usually about twenty years after it's placed. But I digress.
They are harvesting genes. Some human, some animal."

"What
the hell for?" asked Paul.

Mike
leaned back against the couch. "They're sterile," he
mumbled,
a
faraway look in his eyes.

"You're
remembering," said the Professor. Mike nodded. "He's
right,
of
course," continued Walt, retrieving his pipe. "They've
been around Earth for thousands of years, they're scientists. At
first they studied man to understand themselves more fully, grasp
their past..." he re-lit his pipe. "Now they've reached
their height of evolution, every species does eventually, the same
cycle they all take... they're dying."

"Dying?"
repeated Jack. "But why?"

"They've
evolved to the point where the thirst for knowledge is all
consuming.
And in that drive for wisdom and knowledge, they forgot themselves,
forgot the simple things."

"No
children," said Mike quietly.

"Quite,"
said Walt. "They forgot about sexuality, procreation,
enjoyment...
Sad actually, a good boff now and again does so much for your
general well being. Anyway, they've been using human sperm and eggs
to produce their own young, with a few DNA alterations, of course.
Then their young adults return to learn and have sex with humans,
hoping to create natural offspring no doubt. It's not a bad plan,
but it has serious flaws. Mainly, the DNA they're using is their
own, and since they have no early DNA maps to work from, from a time
they were actually fertile, they produce sterile children. They're
doomed to extinction eventually I'm afraid."

"Isn't
there anything that can be done?” asked Jack.

"Theoretically
yes..." began the Professor. "Unfortunately the key
to
breaking that chain of events or preventing the chain from initially
occurring has been lost over eons and eons of time and has yet to be
rediscovered." He paused to stare at the glowing embers in his
pipe. "Do you remember when we discussed a place called Base
Alpha?"

"At
dinner once, I think," said Jack. "Why?"

"Well,"
began Walt "that's where scientists believe
all
life
in
the
universe originally began..."

"Is
that where the
Big
Bang
took place?" asked Brian.

Shaking
his head, Walt tamped fresh tobacco into his pipe. "Not
necessarily.
It is believed the
Bang
only formed the stars, planets and universe. We theorize life
actually began millions of years after that. It was on one of these
original planets that had just the right conditions to nurture life,
that it was born. Or placed by the gods," he added. "In
either case, that's referred to as
Base
Alpha
.
We believe we will find the key there."