Chapter 10

Ed Straker placed the medals on the table. 'He should have had these,' he said sadly to himself. 'At least Rachel should have seen them, should have known about him.'

There was silence in the room. Straker looked up, smiling grimly. 'Well, we have a fairly accurate grid reference so hopefully it's just a case of going out there and finding any remaining evidence. If they were buried in sand, in the desert, chances are the remains will still be there, possibly mummified. Alec, can you go out to the area and start the search.'

'What are you expecting to find, Ed?' Alec asked, wondering why they were bothering about a UFO that crashed over sixty five years ago.

'I don't know, Alec. Simple as that. I really don't know. Possibly some technology that we haven't seen before, some more of these artefacts. Let's see what's out there shall we? You can take the SST if you want more flying experience,' and he grinned knowingly at the colonel.

The meeting ended, and Straker started to tidy up the litter of papers and objects, putting them back into the box one-handed. Rachel Philips picked up one of the small ovoids and examined it curiously. 'This is very interesting Ed. Do you mind if I take it back to my office to study? I've never seen anything like it before.'

He nodded at her, distractedly, his mind on other matters; Edward's medal's, the involvement of theSOE, the arrangements for Rachel Straker's funeral. He was going to be very busy in the days ahead.

The flight out to Tunisia was uneventful and fast, just as Alec liked his flights. They had a helicopter waiting at the airport to take them to the burial area somewhere off the C211 road in the Jebi National Park. Thank God for GPS, Alec smiled wryly to himself, knowing that otherwise the chances of finding a burial site after this many years was impossible, especially in the constantly shifting dunes.

The helicopter descended, sand blowing up in fierce clouds around the team as they disembarked. Alec ordered the team to spread out with detectors, searching for any signs of the remains. It took just a few minutes before one of the men called him over. There, submerged in the soft, slurring sand, a rusting German rifle. Alec Freeman smiled.

They removed Edward's body first, the leathery, mummified skin tanned with the effects of the dry heat, wisps of yellowing blonde hair clinging to the crushed skull. His uniform stiff and brittle, but still recognisable. The alien corpses were close by, and were soon safely stored in containers. Edward's remains, however, were placed in a simple coffin and Alec draped a Union Flag over it as the helicopter took off. There had been no signs of any remaining UFO fragments. But they had the aliens, the remaining artefacts and weapons, and Edward.

While the SHADO forensic team at HQ set to work with their usual efficiency and expertise, Ed Straker set to work on the reports that had arrived. The autopsy findings, the analysis of some of the objects found in Edward's archive, the regular daily logs to be checked and authorised. They would contact him if the team found anything unusual.

Unusual.

The commander almost laughed. Everything that originated from the aliens was unusual. They still had numerous inexplicable pieces of equipment salvaged from downed UFOs, as well as the almost incomprehensible autopsy reports concerning some of the bodies recovered over the past years.

One day, he thought, one day they might actually understand some of these results, might be able to use some of this alien technology themselves. But not yet.

And probably not for a long time to come.

But one day…..

He picked up the daily logs. It was awkward with his shoulder still strapped up, but he read through them, signing, authorising, annotating. It took time, but he was in no hurry today. There was no need to rush.

Then the autopsy report and the analysis of the small metallic fragments found in Mark Ross's skull. Cause of death; a massive brain haemorrhage probably occurring when the implant exploded. Straker leaned back in his chair. They still don't know how that had happened. How Mark had become the last victim of the aliens. He hoped they would not have to increase the frequency of the CT scans.

The final piece of paperwork. He picked up the research groups report into the objects found in the graves and Edward's archive. Started reading. And in a blinding flash of insight, it all became horrifically clear.

He ran from his office, his chair crashing back onto the floor unnoticed.

Dear God would he be in time? It could already be too late.

She was sitting behind her desk, flicking through a report, when he burst through the door, gun in hand. For one long second he just stared at her, then pointed his Glock directly at her, his eyes terrified and desperate. And, with almost a sob of despair, he pulled the trigger.