Chapter 3
Fear adding speed to his steps, Blackwood made his way back to the alien encampment, prudence halting him behind one of the tents. From there he commanded a good view of the camp itself. The three aliens ringed an unconscious body, Ironhorse's camos blending him neatly into the leaf- covered earth. From where he stood, Harrison couldn't even tell if the Colonel was still breathing. He could even be dead....
No! Blackwood rejected the possibility instantly. He'd lost too many of those he cared about to the alien war: Karen, Kensington, his parents ... so many more. He wasn't going to lose another friend to them too! Heart thumping wildly in his chest and still bereft of a plan, Harrison paused to listen.
"Tchu-quar te nage," the elderly hunter began, only to be interrupted by the third alien -- the woman.
"Speak as the body would speak," she commanded brusquely, "in case we are observed."
"This one was discovered in the brush," the black explained to the hunter. "It is not known whether it was alone."
The woman poked the soldier's limp form with the toe of one expensive boot. "The Envoy should be warned. He is our only contact with the Advocacy."
"We are nothing without their council," the hunter intoned as though in litany. He knelt, peering intently into the Colonel's slack features. "This creature yet lives?"
The black nodded. "It does."
"I shall take its body for the information it contains." The hunter stretched out a hand, reaching for the helpless Ironhorse. "If it is one of many, we shall need to know."
"Wait!" Blackwood roared, panicked.
Three guns swung on him as the scientist stepped out of the brush. It was the hardest thing he'd ever done, but Harrison forced himself to show no expression save a mildly contemptuous sneer. "To life immortal!" he said, echoing a phrase he'd learned in a town named Beaton almost a year ago.
The three alien soldiers exchanged a very human look of puzzlement, but held their fire. Blackwood took a deep breath and plunged on. "It was necessary for me to absorb this body for the information it contains," he explained, patting his chest. "The Advocacy has searched for these two for a long time. They will be pleased we have captured them."
The aliens looked vaguely interested at the possibility. "Thank you, Envoy," the large black said, bearing yellow teeth in his impression of a deprecating smile. It reminded Harrison of a feeding shark. "Shall we take this one's body as well?"
"No!" Blackwood caught himself. "I mean, we shall need this one later, after this body ... has ... um ... spoiled." Yuck, he added silently.
"The envoy is wise," the woman agreed. "The human scum may yet be of use to us." She stepped towards the still man, pulling an old-fashioned hypodermic from one pocket. "I will send it into the Qa'agh sleep until it is needed."
Harrison fancied he heard a muffled grunt of alarm and shot forward, panic rising. "No!" he yelled, arresting the creature as she/it knelt. "I ... I.... need it. For something. ... Now." Blackwood dared a look at his fallen friend, realizing with a jolt that the black eyes were fixed on him with an intensity Harrison had rarely seen. Raw emotion -- grief, fear, and a murderous rage -- hung suspended within the glittering obsidian. He must have heard me say I was an alien, Harrison thought. Hang on, Colonel -- trust me just a little bit longer. With an almost imperceptible sigh, Ironhorse closed his eyes again, never uttering a sound.
Blackwood schooled his features into an expressionless mask, calmly meeting the suspicious looks of the three aliens. "How near is your task to completion?" he asked formally, playing for time. These three might not completely trust him, but they didn't seem to be overly bright, either. Not like Adrian had been.
"Our work progresses well, Envoy," the woman replied respectfully, brushing torn nylons as she regained her feet. "Instructions are coming in daily from the fleet, although we shall soon have to move our reception site to maintain adequate contact."
That answers one question, Harrison thought smugly. "There are no problems with the ... uh ... equipment's assembly? he asked, fishing for all he was worth.
"None but what you are already aware, Envoy," she answered. Darn. "Of course should we not complete our task within the next terran week," the woman went on after a moment, gesturing at the mechanism the beach boy had used earlier, "we shall no longer have access to the great wisdom within the fleet."
She finished so casually that Harrison almost missed the implication of that statement. "Oh ... uh ... out of contact, of course."
She peered at the scientist sharply. "Of course, Envoy, until the planet circles its sun once again. But you do know all of this...?"
"Of course." Harrison wandered idly around the camp into the general direction of the tantalizingly close and still unidentified console by the tents. "You have ... done well. The Advocacy will be pleased when I report." He ran his hands over a baffling lump of wires and lights. "Very pleased, indeed."
The three aliens exchanged another look. "But you already reported, Envoy." The elderly hunter stepped forward, a pace ahead of the other two. "The real Envoy has already reported."
"You are a human," the black man accused. He stepped to Harrison's right, flanking his teammate, while the woman moved left, cutting off any hope of escape from that direction. "You will now die."
Back to the wall and with no place to run, Harrison took the offensive as Ironhorse had taught him over a dozen campaigns together. Channeling terror into fury, Harrison blew up. "Fools! Tch-no da-ka-TAY!" he roared, repeating the only alien phrase he knew. It was enough. The three stopped in their tracks.
"Forgive us, Envoy. We meant no harm...." the hunter began, bobbing obsequiously.
"The Advocacy shall hear of your stupidity!" Harrison raged, on a roll. "I...."
"Everybody freeze!" thundered a voice from the woods.
Blackwood thought he'd never heard anything so sweet in his life! Those dulcet tones belonged to Sgt. Coleman! The cavalry had arrived! Without hesitation, Harrison dove to the ground out of the line of fire, dimly aware of the three aliens drawing weapons. Their first shots took out the equipment, as expected. The panels blew in a multi-colored flare of sparks and glass, spattering the clearing with shards. They took time to loose a second burst into the foliage surrounding the camp, then they were off and running, seeking escape among the thick trees. Leaving the physicist on hand to assist the downed Ironhorse, Omega Force went after them to a man.
Gratefully, Blackwood levered himself up off the ground, peering around nervously. There had been no opportunity to discover whether these three were the only aliens in the vicinity. The coast seemed to be clear, however, so he risked coming to his feet, tensed for anything which might happen.
"Freeze!" came a curt command from the ground. Moving only his eyes, Harrison slowly met the obsidian stare that pierced him through. Ironhorse forced himself to his knees, one hand tightly gripping the 9mm Beretta aimed at Harrison's heart. "Don't even twitch or I'll drill you."
"We've been through this before, Colonel," Harrison pointed out, very careful to not even twitch. "Pull out a Geiger counter and clear me."
Ironhorse raised the gun higher, holding it rock steady. "I'm going to do just that as soon as one of my men get back to watch you. Then I'm giving Omega Force a refresher course on basic identification procedure."
"They shouldn't have left us alone without checking," Harrison realized, wincing at the security gaff.
The soldier tipped his head in acknowledgement. "Precisely ... Doctor. I refuse to compromise the Project by taking any chances. I ... I heard you talking that language. Until you're cleared, I ... can't believe you."
"Understandable, Colonel," Blackwood replied, regarding the Beretta nervously. "I'd still feel better if you were pointing that cannon some place else."
Defiantly, Ironhorse inched to his feet, shaking his head to clear it. "I'll bet you would. Just ... stay where you are...." He took a single step backward, realigning his target automatically. His heel caught on a tree root and, still shaken from his ordeal, he overbalanced, unable to correct in time. With a loud "Woof!" he went down, winded.
Concern overriding his respect for the man's martial prowess Harrison leaped forward, kneeling beside the supine figure after carefully kicking the gun to the side. Ironhorse lay so still that Harrison was certain he'd passed out again. Then the dark head jerked up, eyes revealing a fear which was only partly due to the fact that he was virtually nose-to-nose with a suspected alien. He was capable of little more than a hoarse squawk, but one hand scrabbled for the serrated commando knife strapped to his leg. Harrison caught the hand firmly, surprised when it did not complete its grab. "Easy does it, Paul. No need to neutralize me, yet."
The hand resisted only slightly before falling away from the haft. "Harrison?"
Blackwood smiled, a genuinely affectionate smile which lit his eyes from within. Humming to himself he routed in the voluminous pockets concealed by his jacket, extracting a tiny box-shaped device and thumbing it on. It emitted a series of low clicks and a red needle quivered weakly. "Background radiation only. See? It's me, Colonel. You know, this is happening a bit too often for my peace of mind."
"That makes two of us, Doctor." With a sigh, Ironhorse reclaimed his dropped pistol and holstered it. "You and I are going to have to have a talk on enemy infiltration," he mumbled, leaning back against the tree bole and glaring at the offending root.
Harrison's expressive features fell. "I thought I did a pretty good job of infiltration," he objected, mildly hurt. "It worked didn't it?"
Ironhorse offered him a mischievous smile, then winced and rubbed his bruised jaw. "I want you to teach me. You did a good job, Harrison. Did you get what you wanted?"
Praise from Ironhorse was as rare as snow in southern L.A. Pleased, Harrison dropped from his knees to the ground turning until he could lean beside the soldier. The sound of sporadic firing in the distance provided an odd counterpoint to the peaceful serenity of the little clearing, but the solid shoulder just touching his was comforting in it familiarity. He hadn't gotten the particle beam weapon, but both he and Ironhorse had escaped with their lives. "Yes, Colonel," he returned dreamily. "I got what I wanted." With a sigh, he settled back to await the return of Omega Force and the ride home.
***
Fear adding speed to his steps, Blackwood made his way back to the alien encampment, prudence halting him behind one of the tents. From there he commanded a good view of the camp itself. The three aliens ringed an unconscious body, Ironhorse's camos blending him neatly into the leaf- covered earth. From where he stood, Harrison couldn't even tell if the Colonel was still breathing. He could even be dead....
No! Blackwood rejected the possibility instantly. He'd lost too many of those he cared about to the alien war: Karen, Kensington, his parents ... so many more. He wasn't going to lose another friend to them too! Heart thumping wildly in his chest and still bereft of a plan, Harrison paused to listen.
"Tchu-quar te nage," the elderly hunter began, only to be interrupted by the third alien -- the woman.
"Speak as the body would speak," she commanded brusquely, "in case we are observed."
"This one was discovered in the brush," the black explained to the hunter. "It is not known whether it was alone."
The woman poked the soldier's limp form with the toe of one expensive boot. "The Envoy should be warned. He is our only contact with the Advocacy."
"We are nothing without their council," the hunter intoned as though in litany. He knelt, peering intently into the Colonel's slack features. "This creature yet lives?"
The black nodded. "It does."
"I shall take its body for the information it contains." The hunter stretched out a hand, reaching for the helpless Ironhorse. "If it is one of many, we shall need to know."
"Wait!" Blackwood roared, panicked.
Three guns swung on him as the scientist stepped out of the brush. It was the hardest thing he'd ever done, but Harrison forced himself to show no expression save a mildly contemptuous sneer. "To life immortal!" he said, echoing a phrase he'd learned in a town named Beaton almost a year ago.
The three alien soldiers exchanged a very human look of puzzlement, but held their fire. Blackwood took a deep breath and plunged on. "It was necessary for me to absorb this body for the information it contains," he explained, patting his chest. "The Advocacy has searched for these two for a long time. They will be pleased we have captured them."
The aliens looked vaguely interested at the possibility. "Thank you, Envoy," the large black said, bearing yellow teeth in his impression of a deprecating smile. It reminded Harrison of a feeding shark. "Shall we take this one's body as well?"
"No!" Blackwood caught himself. "I mean, we shall need this one later, after this body ... has ... um ... spoiled." Yuck, he added silently.
"The envoy is wise," the woman agreed. "The human scum may yet be of use to us." She stepped towards the still man, pulling an old-fashioned hypodermic from one pocket. "I will send it into the Qa'agh sleep until it is needed."
Harrison fancied he heard a muffled grunt of alarm and shot forward, panic rising. "No!" he yelled, arresting the creature as she/it knelt. "I ... I.... need it. For something. ... Now." Blackwood dared a look at his fallen friend, realizing with a jolt that the black eyes were fixed on him with an intensity Harrison had rarely seen. Raw emotion -- grief, fear, and a murderous rage -- hung suspended within the glittering obsidian. He must have heard me say I was an alien, Harrison thought. Hang on, Colonel -- trust me just a little bit longer. With an almost imperceptible sigh, Ironhorse closed his eyes again, never uttering a sound.
Blackwood schooled his features into an expressionless mask, calmly meeting the suspicious looks of the three aliens. "How near is your task to completion?" he asked formally, playing for time. These three might not completely trust him, but they didn't seem to be overly bright, either. Not like Adrian had been.
"Our work progresses well, Envoy," the woman replied respectfully, brushing torn nylons as she regained her feet. "Instructions are coming in daily from the fleet, although we shall soon have to move our reception site to maintain adequate contact."
That answers one question, Harrison thought smugly. "There are no problems with the ... uh ... equipment's assembly? he asked, fishing for all he was worth.
"None but what you are already aware, Envoy," she answered. Darn. "Of course should we not complete our task within the next terran week," the woman went on after a moment, gesturing at the mechanism the beach boy had used earlier, "we shall no longer have access to the great wisdom within the fleet."
She finished so casually that Harrison almost missed the implication of that statement. "Oh ... uh ... out of contact, of course."
She peered at the scientist sharply. "Of course, Envoy, until the planet circles its sun once again. But you do know all of this...?"
"Of course." Harrison wandered idly around the camp into the general direction of the tantalizingly close and still unidentified console by the tents. "You have ... done well. The Advocacy will be pleased when I report." He ran his hands over a baffling lump of wires and lights. "Very pleased, indeed."
The three aliens exchanged another look. "But you already reported, Envoy." The elderly hunter stepped forward, a pace ahead of the other two. "The real Envoy has already reported."
"You are a human," the black man accused. He stepped to Harrison's right, flanking his teammate, while the woman moved left, cutting off any hope of escape from that direction. "You will now die."
Back to the wall and with no place to run, Harrison took the offensive as Ironhorse had taught him over a dozen campaigns together. Channeling terror into fury, Harrison blew up. "Fools! Tch-no da-ka-TAY!" he roared, repeating the only alien phrase he knew. It was enough. The three stopped in their tracks.
"Forgive us, Envoy. We meant no harm...." the hunter began, bobbing obsequiously.
"The Advocacy shall hear of your stupidity!" Harrison raged, on a roll. "I...."
"Everybody freeze!" thundered a voice from the woods.
Blackwood thought he'd never heard anything so sweet in his life! Those dulcet tones belonged to Sgt. Coleman! The cavalry had arrived! Without hesitation, Harrison dove to the ground out of the line of fire, dimly aware of the three aliens drawing weapons. Their first shots took out the equipment, as expected. The panels blew in a multi-colored flare of sparks and glass, spattering the clearing with shards. They took time to loose a second burst into the foliage surrounding the camp, then they were off and running, seeking escape among the thick trees. Leaving the physicist on hand to assist the downed Ironhorse, Omega Force went after them to a man.
Gratefully, Blackwood levered himself up off the ground, peering around nervously. There had been no opportunity to discover whether these three were the only aliens in the vicinity. The coast seemed to be clear, however, so he risked coming to his feet, tensed for anything which might happen.
"Freeze!" came a curt command from the ground. Moving only his eyes, Harrison slowly met the obsidian stare that pierced him through. Ironhorse forced himself to his knees, one hand tightly gripping the 9mm Beretta aimed at Harrison's heart. "Don't even twitch or I'll drill you."
"We've been through this before, Colonel," Harrison pointed out, very careful to not even twitch. "Pull out a Geiger counter and clear me."
Ironhorse raised the gun higher, holding it rock steady. "I'm going to do just that as soon as one of my men get back to watch you. Then I'm giving Omega Force a refresher course on basic identification procedure."
"They shouldn't have left us alone without checking," Harrison realized, wincing at the security gaff.
The soldier tipped his head in acknowledgement. "Precisely ... Doctor. I refuse to compromise the Project by taking any chances. I ... I heard you talking that language. Until you're cleared, I ... can't believe you."
"Understandable, Colonel," Blackwood replied, regarding the Beretta nervously. "I'd still feel better if you were pointing that cannon some place else."
Defiantly, Ironhorse inched to his feet, shaking his head to clear it. "I'll bet you would. Just ... stay where you are...." He took a single step backward, realigning his target automatically. His heel caught on a tree root and, still shaken from his ordeal, he overbalanced, unable to correct in time. With a loud "Woof!" he went down, winded.
Concern overriding his respect for the man's martial prowess Harrison leaped forward, kneeling beside the supine figure after carefully kicking the gun to the side. Ironhorse lay so still that Harrison was certain he'd passed out again. Then the dark head jerked up, eyes revealing a fear which was only partly due to the fact that he was virtually nose-to-nose with a suspected alien. He was capable of little more than a hoarse squawk, but one hand scrabbled for the serrated commando knife strapped to his leg. Harrison caught the hand firmly, surprised when it did not complete its grab. "Easy does it, Paul. No need to neutralize me, yet."
The hand resisted only slightly before falling away from the haft. "Harrison?"
Blackwood smiled, a genuinely affectionate smile which lit his eyes from within. Humming to himself he routed in the voluminous pockets concealed by his jacket, extracting a tiny box-shaped device and thumbing it on. It emitted a series of low clicks and a red needle quivered weakly. "Background radiation only. See? It's me, Colonel. You know, this is happening a bit too often for my peace of mind."
"That makes two of us, Doctor." With a sigh, Ironhorse reclaimed his dropped pistol and holstered it. "You and I are going to have to have a talk on enemy infiltration," he mumbled, leaning back against the tree bole and glaring at the offending root.
Harrison's expressive features fell. "I thought I did a pretty good job of infiltration," he objected, mildly hurt. "It worked didn't it?"
Ironhorse offered him a mischievous smile, then winced and rubbed his bruised jaw. "I want you to teach me. You did a good job, Harrison. Did you get what you wanted?"
Praise from Ironhorse was as rare as snow in southern L.A. Pleased, Harrison dropped from his knees to the ground turning until he could lean beside the soldier. The sound of sporadic firing in the distance provided an odd counterpoint to the peaceful serenity of the little clearing, but the solid shoulder just touching his was comforting in it familiarity. He hadn't gotten the particle beam weapon, but both he and Ironhorse had escaped with their lives. "Yes, Colonel," he returned dreamily. "I got what I wanted." With a sigh, he settled back to await the return of Omega Force and the ride home.
***
