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  “Liliana, get in the ship!”

  “I’ll go when you do!” she yelled back.

  After what seemed decades the hatch began its incessantly slow climb upward.

  “Alright now, Liliana, I have no desire to be called Hop Along. Run for it.” And run we did, with an entire army of Genogerians behind us. A few actually grabbed on to the hatch as it finally closed losing arms, hands and some sausage sized fingers in the process. Or in one poor Geno’s case, legs. It was still disconcerting to have so many of them surrounding us. We could hear them below us and we knew it was just a matter of time before they launched some sort of assault.

  “Oh, Stephanie,” I moaned, “why did you have to do that?” I cradled her in my arms, tears streaming down my face. She had been gut shot and was still alive. But the pain was taking her and death was all too imminent.

  “I did it for you,” she said gently. “You sacrificed so much for our safety, it was time for a little payback.”

  “Stephanie, thank you,” I sobbed. “I will always love you and I promise I will never forget you.” And that was it—her eyes closed and she still had one of her slightly crooked smiles on her face. She went out the way she wanted to, fighting. And that’s the way I’ll always remember her.

  “That’s your problem, hu-man. You are too sentimental,” the commander said with a sneer.

  “Shut up!” I shouted, wanting nothing more than to gut shoot him so he’d know what it felt like to die a slow, agonizing death.

  “And too easily unsettled.”

  “Why aren’t we flying yet?” I stood up and headed toward the commander. My weapon was raised, I had so much wanted to bury him right there on that ship. But that would have done the planet Earth such a great disservice and I had more than myself and Stephanie to think about.

  “I cannot start the ship until my men leave the area.”

  “Listen closely because I’m not going to say it again.” I planted the weapon square on his snout. “As soon as you start this ship, I’ll guarantee they’ll move away. And to be honest with you, I really don’t care if a few of your men turn into fried crocodile nuggets.” He hissed, but he saw my rage and had no doubt of my intentions. The ship started and more than a few dozen Genos did become crispy critters, which made it all the more satisfying.

  “Let’s go. Open the doors and let’s get this bucket moving.”

  “I can’t open the door, they are automatically sealed when life is detected in the launch area.”

  “Well, then, order your men out of here so we can leave.”

  “No matter what I say, they won’t leave. They will not let me be taken off this ship.”

  “Order them or die.”

  “I’ll order them, but then you’re going to have to kill me. Because they will not move. But we can negotiate, if you like.” And he opened up his mouth in what appeared to be his award-winning smile, but the only picture that stuck in my head was of the Big Bad Wolf in Little Red Riding Hood.

  “What’s the deal, Commander? You’ll fry me instead of slow roast me before you eat me?”

  “No, I’ll keep you alive, a few of your women will have to be sacrificed, but your safety will be guaranteed.”

  “So you’re saying all I have to do is sacrifice a few of my companions and you’ll let me live out the rest of my years in relative comfort and safety, completely enslaved on your ship?”

  “Exactly.”

  A few of the women who didn’t know me so well were actually a little flustered and I would assume worried.

  “Kiss my ass.” His toothy grin disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. “Get this ship moving now, I won’t warn you again. If you don’t or if you try some new stunt I’ll kill you and take my chances with all these controls.” He started the ship in the general direction of the hatch and with great satisfaction, I watched through the rear view monitor as a dozen or so more guards instantly vaporized. I would have been a lot happier had Stephanie not just been killed, but it was still a very satisfying moment. The guards backed up enough to be away from the deadly exhaust but they would not leave the hangar. I was at a complete and utter loss.

  CHAPTER 48

  “Which one of you is Colonel Thomas?” Well, that ended any doubt on whether or not they were listening in on our comms, the colonel thought.

  “I am.” The colonel walked forward, sweat pouring off his face. All of the science fiction movies he had ever watched had not prepared him for the sight in front of him. They were bipedal alligators or crocodiles, he could never figure out the difference. They were the most savage and vicious looking creatures he had ever seen. And the toothy smiles did little to allay his fears.

  “Welcome, Colonel, to the Star Scout Julipion. We have been expecting your arrival for months. My name is Brystrar and I will show you to your holding cells.”

  “Holding cells?” The Colonel wanted to turn tail and make a run for the shuttle now.

  “Oh, I am sorry, the translation does not work well. To your um… quarters. Is that a more appropriate word?”

  “Yes, that is infinitely more appropriate.”

  “Is there anybody else on board? We were under the impression you had three other crew members beside yourself.”

  “No, just me and Lieutenant Johnson here.”

  “Hmm, strange. Yes, strange indeed.”

  The colonel knew they knew he was lying; the question was what would they do with that information.

  “Colonel, I am going to have to ask for you and your lieutenant’s firearms. We are very leery about hull breeches and such.”

  “And what of the dozen armed guards you’ve got here?”

  “Come-come, Colonel, you came to our ship, first uninvited, and now armed. Surrendering your firearms would be the much more diplomatic solution. Besides, you are outnumbered four to one, no no, I mean six to one.”

  The colonel had been unholstering his sidearm when way down the bay he noticed a huge commotion going on.

  “Brystrar, what exactly is going on down at the other end of the bay?”

  “That is of no concern to you. We are running drills.”

  “I think I see blue flames, are they firing at each other?”

  “Colonel, I will not ask again, hand over your firearm or we will take it by force.” The guards who had seemed almost bored with the entire proceedings now took up arms and had them upraised at the colonel and the lieutenant. Not exactly pointing at them, not yet anyway.

  “I’d feel a whole lot better about giving up my pistol if I knew exactly what was going on down there,” the colonel said as he pointed down to where the ruckus was.

  “Colonel, do not tell me you flew all the way out here to get yourself killed over matters which do not concern you.” The firing at the other end of the bay got increasingly more intense. The guards seemed to be itching to get into the fray. The colonel thought they just might shoot him and the lieutenant so they could be done with their detail up here.

  “Brystrar, all I am asking is what all the commotion at the other end of the bay is about.” The colonel watched as huge plumes of energy seemed to fry a score or more of the creatures. “We both know that is no drill down there, I can tell from here your men are dying.”

  “Very well, Colonel. We are in the midst of quelling an escape attempt.”

  “Humans, Brystrar?”

  “Colonel, your sidearm.”

  “Is it humans, Brystrar?”

  “Colonel, look out!” the lieutenant shouted, but it was not soon enough. The colonel took a hit to the thigh, he watched in disbelief as his leg just disappeared.

  “Captain, I’ve been hit, several unfriendlies here.” The colonel started shooting rounds, the first one hit dead center in Brystrar’s head. His head snapped back from the force of the bullet. If the bullet had not killed him the broken neck would have. But the colonel did not get another shot off. Three shots from the guards hit true and vaporized him.

  The lieutenant just
started shouting, “The colonel’s down, the col—” and that was it, the lieutenant died without ever getting a shot off. The captain knew from the sounds of it that the colonel and the lieutenant were dead. He more than half wanted to give himself up. That had to be better than the alternative, didn’t it? But he had sworn to the colonel he would carry out the final aspect of their mission.

  The Captain took a few moments to collect his thoughts and say his prayers. “Dear God, please forgive me for what I am about to do. And dear Lord, please tell my family I will always love them.” And with that said he pressed the detonator. He did not feel a thing, so quick was his passing he believed the bomb had failed to detonate. But there was the tunnel of light, so apparently God had approved or at least forgiven his actions.

  The explosion was catastrophic in the launch bay. The explosion killed every living thing in the bay not protected, in a thousandth of a second. The shuttlecraft with Mike on it was lifted up and hurled against the far side of the bay. The bay door problem had been solved, the explosion had ripped a huge chunk of the outer hull away. It had to have been at least a mile long by half that height. The damage was mesmerizing. With the instant depressurization breach in the hull, all of the ships in this particular launch bay which had not been completely destroyed were now being sucked out into the vacuum of space.

  “What was that?” I pulled myself off the commander, luckily I had fallen into him and smashed his head into the bulkhead, because if he had not been knocked semi-unconscious he would have easily overpowered me and taken my rifle. But as luck would have it my full hundred and seventy pounds crashed into his head as opposed to his four hundred and fifty plus pounds the other way.

  The commander shook his snout, and blood flew in rivulets. I was not thrilled to be sprayed with Progerian blood.

  “It appears your visiting dignitaries blew up a bomb.”

  “The who and the what?” I asked dazedly.

  “Your planet sent a shuttle to our ship, and apparently we grossly underestimated its strength. We were planning on taking the crew and the ship captive to show your planet you have no offense or defense against us.”

  “Looks by the size of that hole in your hull, you definitely screwed that up.”

  “Yes,” he said with a sneer. “It seems you hu-mans are full of a great many surprises.” He looked directly at me. “I strongly suggest you sit down and strap yourself in.”

  “Why Commander, I didn’t know you cared.”

  “I don’t, but we’re about to be sucked through that hole and I don’t want you to mistakenly take my head off.”

  “Ladies, everyone alright back there?”

  “Yes,” came some wobbly voices. “For the most part, we were already strapped in,” Deb piped up.

  “Why didn’t that bomb destroy this ship like it did the majority of the others?” I asked.

  “When we powered up, the ship’s shield defense system was automatically engaged. Had we not been powered up, we would have taken some damage like everything else in the launch bay.”

  “Damn shame, damn shame,” I said again. The commander looked at me funny, debating whether I was being honest or not. I wasn’t. I felt for the crew of the space shuttle, but they knew their mission, and their mission had succeeded beyond their wildest wishes. It would be months or possibly years before this launch bay was operational, and that was going to put a huge crimp in the Progerians’ plans.

  CHAPTER 49 – Journal Entry 30

  “Ground control to USS Liberation. Ground Control to USS Liberation. Sir, I’ve been trying to reach the shuttle for over half an hour. Their comm must be down.”

  “Major, you saw the spike on the charts, their comm isn’t down. It’s nonexistent,” the general said with deep regret in his voice.

  “That can’t be it. That can’t be the end of them. Can it?” The major could not believe he had just lost his best friend. How could he go to the colonel’s wife and tell her she was a widow and her son was now going to grow up without a father? He didn’t believe he could do it. He began to cry right at the console. “Ground control to USS Liberation,” he sobbed in desperation.

  “Major, pull yourself together!” the general said, but with concern interlaced through the stern words. “I’ve got to believe we did little more than stir them up and we are going to need all the experience we can get right here, right now. I know it’s difficult son, but there will be plenty of time to mourn after all this is over.”

  “Yes, sir. I understand, sir. It’s just that we went through the academy together and I’m his kids’ godfather. I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to face my sister again.”

  “Son, we are going to lose a lot more fine men before this campaign is over. We have to focus on the task at hand. If we lose our grip now, we’ll never be able to regain it.”

  “Sir, yes, sir. Would you mind if I took a break to go compose myself?”

  “Not at all, Major. As a matter of fact, why don’t you take the rest of the day off. But be back here first thing in the morning. We are going to have to go over all the data we are receiving to see if we put a dent in that ship.”

  “First thing tomorrow. Aye, sir.” The major turned to head out of the control room when static began to pour through the overhead speakers. Hope surged through him like a tidal wave.

  “Hello, Earth. Hello, Earth.” It came through tinny and was not couched at all in proper military jargon. But the major reasoned in a stressful situation military procedure can and usually is ignored.

  “Colonel-Colonel, is that you?”

  “Earth, please respond. Can you hear us?” The tinny voice came through again, the signal was starting to pick up some strength.

  “Colonel, this is Ground Control—do you copy?” The major actually had his fingers crossed; it had to be them. Who else could be broadcasting near Venus?

  “I’m sorry, this is not the colonel. My name is Mike Talbot. I am aboard the alien shuttle vessel ‘Star Hopper’. I have with us one highly ranked hostage and a bunch of very happy civilians slash jail breakers.”

  The general motioned for the microphone. “I’m sorry, son, my name is General Burkhalter. Could you please repeat your name again?”

  “Sure thing, General, my name is Mike Talbot.”

  “Were you at Red Rocks, son?”

  “That would be affirmative, sir.”

  “How did you come to be flying back home with a hostage on an alien ship?”

  “Sir, that’s going to be a long story and I’m not one hundred percent sure we won’t be hunted down and killed.” The general couldn’t believe the calmness in this youth’s voice after what he’d just said. “So I want to make sure I get out a few things before that possibly happens. I can also guarantee, General, that this call home is being monitored.”

  The major covered up the mike and spoke softly to the general. “Sir, how can we be sure this isn’t some sort of elaborate trap?”

  “Major, it just might be, but since we’re not talking to anyone else at the moment, we might as well hear what he has to say.”

  “Sir… General, you still there?”

  “Yes, son, I’m still here.”

  “Our systems took a pretty good jolt from the explosion. And occasionally things will flare out for a while.” Holy cow, the general thought. This ship had witnessed the explosion firsthand.

  “Sir, first off, these aliens are not friendly. I repeat, not friendly. They are extremely hostile.”

  “Well, Major, if this is a trap it is sure is a darned crazy way to start one,” the general said softly out of range of the mike.

  “Go on, son.”

  “Well, sir, from what I’ve gathered in my extensive stay aboard the ship, they are highly evolved species resembling crocodiles or alligators. Their evolutionary path closely mimicked our own with one glaringly different fact.”

  “What is it?” The general was on the edge of his seat.

  “They didn’t have a planet-cri
ppling meteor hit. They had all those extra years to evolve and become the assholes they are. They didn’t have to start from scratch like our planet did. Sir, they are coming to Earth with the full intention of taking it over and enslaving us. We are to become their new food source. They like the way we taste. I hope the months that ship has been parked out there have given you enough time to get it together down there.”

  The general was upset, he had let the President talk him down on the defense buildup and now it was going to come back to haunt him big time. He made a mental note to himself to throw whatever was necessary to Paul’s growing troops.

  “Sir, the explosion is going to throw a huge wrench in their plans but this species is very industrious and clever, it won’t hamper them forever.”

  “Son, what can you tell me about the explosion?”

  “Sir, to be honest with you, we felt it more than saw it. But I witnessed firsthand the damage it did and it was incredible. It had to have vaporized at least three hundred to three hundred and fifty of the Genogerian guards.”

  “Genogerians?”

  “Yes, sir, that is a sort of sub-species. There are the Progerians who are the ruling class, and the lesser-evolved Genogerians who do their dirty work. The Genogerians would be roughly equal to Cro-Magnon man on Earth had they survived. The Progerians realized early on they could use this species for their own benefit, so the notion of enslavement runs deep in them. The Progerians are big on war as long as they don’t have to physically be involved. I have some theories about this, sir, but I don’t wish to express them over the party line. With the way this ship flies we should be in your air space tomorrow. Could you please send up landing coordinates? I will make sure my distinguished guest follows them to a tee. Sir, I am pretty exhausted and I plan to get some shut-eye here soon. But before I do that, I just wanted to express my deepest gratitude for the crew that sacrificed their lives so we could have this chance at freedom.”