The White Sheep and the Black Wolf Part 38

Elle grabbed her Carbonizer and shouldered her duffel
bag. "Okay, X," she was saying. "I don't' want any of that crap you
usually pull off." Turning her head in his direction, she shot, "Got
me, Cowboy?"

But X didn't seem to hear her, or pretended not to. The
magazine clip clicked satisfyingly as he pulled it back, and the gun
let out a shrill whine. X looked up to see Elle glaring at
him. "What?"

Elle sighed. "Never mind. Just make sure you don't get us
killed."

The clock above them indicated that they would make contact
with the Hoon'taks and Allied Forces in a few seconds.

"Nervous, human?" X teased.

Elle smirked. "You wish."

Suddenly the ship gave a small jolt as the it came out of
hyperdrive. Together they walked into the cockpit, where a
JeeDangian Lieutenant sat at the controls.

"What's the status?" X asked, as they entered.

The lieutenant set his lips tightly. "Have a look for
yourselves."

Sychronized, Elle and X looked up at the display screen...and
stared in shock and dismay at the sight of the enemy ships, most of
which consisted of the Allied Forces.

X frowned. "It's just like the Hoon'taks to let their slaves
do their dirty work."

Elle said nothing, but her enmity for the Hoon'taks was
mutual. Her eyes scanned the Allied Forces, whose ships varied
greatly in design and weaponry. Some looked as if they were ready to
be scrapped. Somewhere among those junk ships were Jay and Kay as
well as the other MiB agents, all of which were brainwashed into
fighting for their captors.

"Take your pick," the lieutenant spoke up.

Elle looked at him. "What do you mean? What about the other
counterattack forces?"

The lieutenant snorted. "Didn't Admiral Mezeck tell you? You
guys will play infiltrators, while he and his boys wait out in a
meteor cluster awaiting news of whether you succeed or fail. There's
a reason why you two are traveling in a Hoon'tak schooner in the
first place."

X swore in his native tongue.

Elle scowled angrily at the Federation's hidden agenda.
Cleary they weren't going to risk their lives for a bunch of
brainwashed humans, MiB or no, but only focused entirely on winning
the battle to prevent the Hoon'taks from gaining Earth. Elle
mentally kicked herself for forgetting that the Federation had no
love for humans and they only cared that the Hoon'taks did not gain
a strategic keypoint to conquer their own home planets. One thing
for certain, she and her partner were alone on this.

"So, what's it going to be?" the lieutenant demanded rudely.

X looked about the multitude. "How about that one? The
Malaiki?" he asked Elle.

Too angry to notice, Elle waved her hand impatiently. "It
doesn't matter."

"Hey come on, I need a destination here!"

"You heard the female," X shot back peevishly. "Head for the
Malaiki."

As the ship eased slowly into the myriad of make-shift-
warvessels, X glanced back at Elle, who still had her arms crossed,
and bearing a look of indignation on her face. "Hey, Small Ears.
What's wrong? Motion sick?"

Elle shook her head. "No, I'm just...fed up with the
Federation."

X cocked an eyebrow. "Oh?"

She turned to face him. "I'm sick and tired of the
Federation treating us humans so lowly."

"Well, what do you expect? After all your race is inferior
to..."

Elle shot daggers at him. "Oh, so you agree with them too?"
she demanded.

X backed up uneasily. "Look, you can't deny the fact that
you humans are way behind in every field of science and technology.
And in addition..."

"Is that what really defines which race is superior to
others?" Elle shot back. "What about the Worms? Sure their
technology is advanced, but they're not exactly the brightest
compared to most humans. Yet why does the Federation acknowledge
them respectfully at the Treaty of Kezpach, while they don't give a
rat's ass to MiB representatives?"

Her partner found himself against the wall. He held up his
hands, attempting to tell her to calm down. "I don't know anything
about politics, really. So don't go blaming me. Maybe they don't
recognize MiB because your kind would rather live in a fantasy world
rather than face reality."

Elle blinked. He had a point there. Was that really why MiB
existed in the first place? To protect that crystal of illusion so
coveted by humans? Surely that wasn't what the organization was
established for.

Her thoughts were jarred as the ship rocked slightly. "What
happened?"

"I just linked up with the Malaiki, and I've uploaded a
false identification code. So far they just think we're one of them."

"That's our cue," X replied as Elle and he turned for the
port exit.

The airlock chamber hissed opened and they entered the dingy
confines of the Malaiki.

X and Elle grimaced and wrinkled their noses.

"Damn, I've been in Earth sewers that are much cleaner than
this," X murmured.

Catiously they made their way through the corridors, so far
with no resistance.

Elle frowned. Something was not right. With the verge of war
on the horizon, there was always bound to have a lot of activity on
board a ship. She looked to her partner. Clearly by his expression,
he was thinking the same.

Their footsteps echoed loudly on the metal grille floor.

"Well, Small Ears, what now?"

She opened her mouth to respond, when there came a scrapping
noise, followed by a series of clicks.

They tensed, eyes scanning their surroundings.

Scrape, scrape...Clang!

The grille beneath them shifted.

"What the..." X cried.

Both of them trained their weapons downward...to find Alpha
right beneath them.

Alpha let out a tremendous roar and suddenly the grille
disappeared as Alpha tore it from its hinges.

Elle screamed and felt herself falling and falling down a
seemingly bottomless pit of a ventilation shaft. Fans on the side
whizzed by. There was no up or down. Disoriented, she glanced about
and saw Alpha strangling her partner below her.

She kicked and clawed, trying to get to them but the
distance remained the same. Yet X and Alpha were falling faster than
her somehow.

Gripping her gun, she fired when she got a clear shot at
Alpha's immense back.

Twin balls of energy flew downward and to her great surprise
slowed. Oh SHIT! She wrapped her arms around herself and barreled
just as her own shots flew past, nearly brushing her.

What the hell happened? Was Alpha reflecting her shots? But
he was busy with X and...Her eyes widened. She was falling, but
slowly. The gust of wind beneath her slowed her descent. Since she
was towards the middle, the uprising wind was strong; whereas X and
Alpha were at the side where the wind was weakest. Her shots, which
were too light, were blown back by the same wind supporting her.

It was just like skydiving, Elle realized. Maybe if she...
Wrapping her arms around herself, she felt her descent speed up.
Yes! She directed her body towards the fight and fell quickly.

X gasped and sent blow after blow but Alpha's muscular arms
prevented him from striking at the head. The world blurred and X
felt himself on the verge of blackout. Before him, Alpha's gruesome
countenance swam, laughing at his futile attempts.

"Honestly, I expected more," Alpha sneered. "You're not
worthy to integrate with me. Oh well."

Elle watched in panic as Alpha began to push X's head toward
the side wall fans. Gritting her teeth, she twisted herself about.
The heel of her shoe slammed into Alpha's side, knocking the wind
from him, and sending him flying to the side wall.

"How about you deal with me, Ugly?" Elle hissed.

"Ah, so the young lady cares for a dance?" Alpha kicked off
from the wall, propelling himself towards her.

X coughed and took deep breaths. Damn, that was close. He
looked about and found Elle fighting hand-to-hand with Alpha. X
swore. They were above him and it was impossible to move upwards.
Unless...He took out his Carbonizer, aimed it, and swore again. Elle
was in the way. It was too risky.

Elle used every move she could think of. Yet Alpha put up a
good defense, and she got the uneasy feeling that he was reading her
mind.

"Of course I'm reading your mind, my dear," Alpha
chuckled. "But I really should be going, with the invasion and all
to prepare for. Also, you and your alien partner are beginning to
bore me." He jerked himself away from her.

Elle frowned. What was he playing at? Then she stopped.
Damn, he was going to use the....Her hand reached for the dial on her
Psychic Force Field Generator only to grope at nothing. Hell, it
must have fell off and...

She gasped as a wave of energy hit her, and her brain felt
as if it would explode. Elle shook her head furiously. NO! I refuse
to be controlled!!

Oh, but you are not going to be controlled my dear. I have
more powers than that you know. I wonder... are human skulls really
that strong? Let's find out. Alpha chuckled sinisterly.

Elle gripped her head and screamed.

"That's my cue," X growled, firing a succession of shots.

The updraft snagged the orbs of energy and rammed them into
Alpha with tremendous force.

Alpha howled in pain.

Immediately the pressure on Elle's skull abated and she
whipped out her Carbonizer. Her eye caught an airlock door on the
walls coming up fast from below. "X," she called gesturing her head
toward the door.

X smiled. "Gotcha." He fired and his shot hurled into a flip
switch, activating the door.

Suddenly the shaft went into decompression, sucking
everything loose out through the open airlock door.

Alpha snarled and tried futilely to escape the vacuum. He
went, flipping head over heels, into the emptiness of space.

Elle fired and her shot flipped the switch again. The door
hissed shut. And she and her partner resumed breathing.

"Great teamwork there Cowboy," Elle called below. "Though
you could have helped me a bit sooner."

X smirked. "Now why would I want to interrupt your little
dance with the devil? Oh, and by the way human. I see London, I see
France."

Elle blushed and forced her skirt down, cursing the dress
code for female agents for the umpteenth time. Honestly, she'd think
Zed was a perverted old man who'd like to look at his female
workers' legs. Elle scowled. "Don't make me come down there, Cowboy."

Glancing downward, X frowned. They were only three hundred
feet from becoming mince meat by the massive fan below. His eyes
traveled and found a maintenance door complete with a small
balcony. "Come here, Small Ears."

Nodding, Elle dove and ended up beside him.

Together they gripped the ladder and scaled it to safety.