Chapter 36 – Three of a Kind
Just as the morning broke, we set out…
Cautiously, our small party flew low over the tree canopy in the direction of Hell's Gate. By the time we had taken flight, the skies were clear; at least for the time being. I yelled over to Jake as he led the Ikran formation, "I recommend we land about two clicks out and go in on foot." He acknowledged with a nod, and banked downward even closer to the canopy. The rest of us followed suit, hugging the treetops as we approached.
The formation swerved between the great trees of the forest. We flew so close to the canopy that our Ikran's talons occasionally stirred the tops of the trees. I thought to myself that Jake had the right idea to stay low. Unfortunately, they'll probably still detect us at some point. Hopefully we'll be in the forest before they realize we're there. If we stay camouflaged in the trees, we may have the advantage below the canopy. Just maybe.
After we landed, I said to the group, "brothers and sisters," the group gathered around me. I continued, "These humans are going to be different than others we've seen. Their technology will be extremely powerful. Our only advantages are stealth and silence and hopefully we'll get close enough to learn their intentions." Jake added, "We're here to watch, not fight today. Stay low and be ready to run if we must." We all nodded our acknowledgment of Jake's orders.
We dispersed into two groups of three. Wokan led the other two young warriors. I followed Jake and Mi'niri as we traveled toward the colony jumping from limb to limb high in the trees. We were careful to stay under the canopy and off the ground as we approached the base perimeter in the distance. We crossed the final one hundred meter distance, keeping low to the tree limbs, using their leaves as camouflage, until we could clearly see into the compound. We kept ourselves glued to the limbs, with as low a profile as possible, blending with the forest's natural bioluminescence surrounding us. The first glimmers of sunlight had just begun to illuminate Hell's Gate.
The compound below was full of movement. Several large humanoid shaped robotic combat droids moved about the compound, as if they were looking for something. I thought about how this was the last place I ever wanted to see again. Jake whispered to me, "Nathan, are those Man-O-Wars down there?" I nodded, "yes, and based on the design, I'm almost certain they're Mark III models. The latest, as far as I know."
An incredible roar in the sky interrupted our conversation. We looked up to see the sudden appearance of three large, solid gray shuttles that resembled the RDA Valkyrie transport shuttles that used to land here. They weren't approaching slowly like the RDAs' shuttle always did. These shuttles arrived together, flying in a triangular cover formation, as they approached the Hell's Gate tarmac. Several small, unmanned aircraft hovered around them providing additional air cover. The shuttle's engines roared in unison so loud on final approach that all of the wildlife surrounding the complex fled at the sound of them.
The sound was so deafening that we grasped our ears in agonizing pain as the noise decibels hit us in waves along with the pressure change caused by the engines revved up to full power for touch down, I said, "Damn, three of them landing at once, they're definitely treating the base as a hot zone.
As the shuttles hovered over into the compound, I said, "Look," and pointed at the protrusions on the shuttles. "See the additional armaments? Now I'm certain they're military. They're landing in a classic defensive star formation."
Jake said, "How can you be sure they're military from this distance?"
I replied, "Those are Star Valkyries, only the military are allowed to possess them."
We hugged the tree limbs as we watched the huge shuttles set down on the tarmac. While I watched, I counted the Man-O-Wars. I could only account for seven of the twelve we saw land. I wondered where the others were. I don't like it. I suspect they're already on perimeter patrol and that's not good for us. Finally, the noise faded to a more comfortable level as the Star Valkyries' engines powered down and shut off.
Jake interrupted my thoughts. He whispered, "Nathan, are those your people down there?" I nodded, "Ya. That's got to be the expeditionary force." Jake replied, "If it is, how do we safely communicate with them?" I thought for a few seconds as Jake and Mi'niri stared at me, waiting to hear my answer.
After I considered our options, with a frustrated facial expression I said, "Without a radio or other way to signal our intent, there's no way for them to know we're not hostile. I advise we wait until they've secured their landing zone. Any contact sooner could be fatal for us."
We continued to observe the activity in the compound when a thought occurred to me, "By chance do you still have the radio you used to talk to Norm with?" Jake shook his head, "No. Its batteries died a while back." With a frustrated tone I replied, "Too bad. We could have used it. In that case, one of us will just have to walk in there and hope they ask questions before they shoot."
I paused for a moment, and continued, "I don't like it, but I'm probably the best choice for the job." Jake reluctantly nodded in agreement.