The Flight for Safety
“The captain—I want him here and now,” Nuggen screams.
Gramma listened to the turmoil in the compound, inquired about the circumstances, and learned of the escape. She sent a communiqué to Gramps advising him. He arrived back at the complex several hours after dark. The blood in his eyes would bring fear to the hearts of the bravest of men.
The captain walks into Nuggen’s study, and his face appears pale and paltry. “What happened?” Raefell asks with a false softness in his voice.
“We don’t understand, sir. We locked them in a room, with security guards posted at the door. They vanished, into the thin air.” Large drops of sweat form on his brow.
“Send for the sentries on duty.”
He takes his communicator and calls for the responsible guards to join him in Gramps’s study.
“You don’t need to wait for the others,” he says with false sympathy in his tone.
He thinks himself dismissed and turns to leave. Nuggen pulls a decorative sword from above the mantle. “Turn around—let's discuss one more thing.”
The captain spins, and Raefell swings the rapier in a slicing motion and cuts the throat of the officer almost severing his head. A gaze of utter disbelief is in the captain’s eyes as he falls to the floor, gurgling as he drowns in his own blood.
He stares at the servant who is standing in the corner in fear. “Get him out of here and dispose of the body—get this mess cleaned up fast.”
The two guards arrive at Raefell’s study alone, each meeting the same fate as their leader. Half a dozen servants dispose of the bodies and clean up.
He walks across the courtyard. A group of troopers is sitting around the fire. “Why are you wasting time here?” He inquires, as he glares at a tall broad-shouldered trooper and says in a stern tone, “The other one won’t be coming back. You’re now the new captain. Get these deadbeats up and back searching for the prisoners. I want them caught, and I’ll accept no excuses. Am I clear?”
“Yes, sir,” he says as the other men scurry to get far as possible from Raefell.
Renny is staring when the man at the fire jumps as his communicator sounds. He answers. He can detect the color fading from the man’s face. “Nuggen did what?” Horror is apparent in his voice.
In the distant darkness, all is quiet. Betta and Riah slip from the cave and subdue the lone soldier as he searches for firewood. They carry the unconscious man, gagged and bound, into the deep recesses of the cavern and prop him up against a rock. “Keep an eye on this one.” Kahnn tells Chisai and Kia. “Don’t let him make any noise.” They again exit the cave.
Renny, decides on a course of action. He will prey upon the fear of the one by the fire, while the other is gone. He starts the motor, which creates a low whistling sound, and gets louder and higher pitched as he accelerates. The guard listens for the noise and turns toward Dérobé-1. Weapon in hand, he takes three steps toward him.
He lays the computer back on the seat and adjusts his dark vision goggles. He selected a path through the thick undergrowth with no objects large enough to damage the machine. He moves forward four meters and stops.
The sentry can spot motion in the bushes, but he cannot distinguish anything. The grip of fear tightens its hold on him. He points his firearm toward the movement and calls to his companion. “Corporal—are you out—? Come on—this isn’t funny.” A few seconds pass, and he aims the gun toward Dérobé-1 and squeezes the trigger. POW...The sound reverberates through the dark.
“Oh crap,” he says as the bullet tears through the camouflage skin and whizzes past mere centimeters from his head. Panic washes over him as he stares at the trooper repositioning the rifle to fire again. In desperation, Renny presses the throttle and steers the vehicle in the direction of the horrified man, hoping to hit him before he fires once more.
The trooper spots movement among the undergrowth coming toward him, but he detects nothing. I’m going either blind or insane. He repositions the weapon and gets off another shot, but Dérobé-1 hits him dead center. The man flies through the air and ricochets off the trailer as he begins to fall. He loses his gun in the process. He crawls out and runs to the downed man. Moments before he can get to him, Riah appears out of the darkness, pulls the unconscious man’s arms behind his back, and secures them.
Jadan and Kahnn appear from the shadows as well. “Help me get him inside with the other one. We need to get out of here fast. The gunshot will cause the area to be crawling with troopers. Get Dérobé-1 started and the computer positioned on the passenger seat—we will take this guy into the cave and get the girls. Be ready to roll when we get back,” he says, shouting orders with urgency.
They come out of the cavern, and detect the sound of running men and voices, in the distance, coming toward them. The others crawl under the camouflage. He turns the vehicle around as Jadan finds their location on the screen and plots an escape course. “Get the PIC masking arm bands on the twins. Is Chisai chipped?” he asks.
He takes a small light and examines Chisai’s left wrist searching for the telltale scar of an implant. She grabs his chin and pulls his face up until they make eye contact. She is shaking her head. She releases him and begins pointing toward a spot.
“Is the object in your back?”
She shakes her head, and points at her shoulder.
“Did we hold back an unused wristband?”
“Yes, one is left,” she says.
“All we can do, short of cutting, is to lay the band flat and tape the item over her’s. Let’s mask the chip and head off a problem later,” Jadan says.
She pulls a knife from Betta’s boot, which she holds up with one hand and points at her shoulder with the other.
“You want us to remove the apparatus?” Kia asks.
She nods.
“Are you sure?”
The girl nods again.
“Renny, can we stop for a few minutes while Betta does this?” she asks.
“Get the task done,” Jadan says.
A short time later, the tiny object is in the palm of Kahnn’s hand. He takes his knife handle, presses the transmitter against a metal bulkhead until the device crumbles, and brushes the pieces out from under the skin of Dérobé-1. “We took care of one challenge…let’s get going.”
“A dilemma exists,” Jadan says.
“We face one difficulty?” Kahnn mocks.
“We can’t afford to take the direct route back. They’ll expect us, but the surprise is on them. They will be waiting for us somewhere along the way,” he says. “We’re going to plot an alternate course, which compounds our fuel problem. We must travel farther, and we’re overweight—plus Renny used extra at the compound picking us up. I don’t think we are carrying enough energy to get us back.”
“Well, what a fine fix,” he says. “How are we going to resolve the dilemma?”
“Well, we can do several things to conserve. For one, we can drop the trailer now. We’ll transfer as many provisions to the Dérobé as we can fit,” Jadan says.
“Better forget the food—take water instead. I’m not sure we can carry enough,” Kahnn says.
Kia proposes a compromise. “Some of the food packs contain a high concentration of liquids. We’ll need maintenance nourishment. Let’s keep the moisture, rich rations and as much water as we can. Do an inventory and decide what else we can discard to lighten the load.”
“What do we do about the weapons?” Renny asks. They overwhelmed the two guards, and they took theirs, consisting of two rifles, which fire solid projectiles, two energy beam handguns, and ammunition. They also took two machetes in leather sheaths with one-meter blades for hacking through underbrush.
“We’ll take them with us,” Jadan says.
They finish, and are all barefoot and wearing minimal clothing, and they medicate Chisai’s incision before leaving the first-aid kit behind.
“We’re as light as we can get—now what?” Riah asks.
“Slow down. In the orientation on Dérobé-1, they emphasized speed is one major factor in conserving fuel. Terrain is another. Load is the third, and we’re exceeding the unit’s capacity. We need to stay on level ground as much as possible.”
“Oh boy,” Renny says with a smirk. “We are sitting ducks—slow sitting ducks.”
“Beats walking,” Betta says with a chuckle.
AT THE MOUNTAIN COMPOUND
“I want to examine the room where the men disappeared,” he says to his new captain. A short time later, he enters the small room with a single door and no windows. Raefell steps inside and stands for a few seconds scanning every inch of the walls, floor, and ceiling. He walks to and slides the table away from the wall. A new panel conceals the hole. “The guards left them unguarded for them to escape this room.”
“Captain, I want to understand your plan for capturing the fugitives.”
Gramma approaches in a run and informs him the twins are missing before he can conclude his inquisition. The search of the compound is underway, but they found no sign of them.
“Be careful when you find the escapees. They’re holding my two grandchildren hostage. No harm had better come to either of them. I want Riah and Kia brought back unharmed—I’m not so particular about the others and there’s a sizeable reward.”
The evening passes as the crowded occupants thread Dérobé-1 through a series of valleys bypassing the mountains. The air is cool outside, but the generated heat of the six bodies under the camouflage is making life uncomfortable. Perspiration pouring off his body, Renny says, “This heat’s awful. What’re we going to do when daylight comes, and we must stop? I’m not sure we can stand the temperature.”
Unaware the flash across the sky showed the heat-seeking satellite exploding. They are still taking extreme precautions.
“How about we roll up the sides a little to help air flow?” she asks.
“The action shouldn’t be a problem, as long as we’re moving, but heat will escape too fast if we stop, and if we stop we might be detected,” Kahnn says. “Jadan, use the GPS to plot where we’ll be at dawn. Try to find heavy woodlands or possible rock outcrops where we can stay during the daylight hours. Renny’s right—we’ll all succumb to the temperature staying in here.”
Eath Marshon and Relo are walking back to the control room from a bay on the lower level. The latest section of the spacecraft yielded monumental findings."
“They are long past due,” the doctor says. “I hope nothing went wrong. Did they take communicators with them?”
“I’m not sure, but I can’t imagine Jadan going anywhere without his. I tried, but they are out of range. I need him to help me with the software—I believe we’re so close. I can’t wait to take him down to the bay where Smid found the fleet.”
Earlier, Kalleen opened a compartment, which contains twelve one-man crafts, six two-man ships, and a shuttle craft with seating for twenty-one.
“Can you imagine the possibilities if we can get them to fly?” The prospects running through Relo’s mind override his concerns for Jadan and his group.
The evening before, he located an outcrop extending out seven meters and two meters high at the outer edge sloping down to less than a meter at the back. They took some time to clear and smooth an area of dirt and sand large enough for them to sleep. Guard duty they do in shifts.
They enjoyed an event-free journey to the compound. The hum of Dérobé-1, the movement of the debris, and the related sounds kept most of the wildlife at a distance. They spotted many without encounters.
On the trip back, the alternate route takes them through much more rugged terrain. Fauna and flora abound. The previous two evenings, sightings became frequent with a wide assortment of birds, reptiles, and mammals of the night. Most displayed some curiosity of them but stayed away.
Jadan is driving, and she plots the course while watching for upcoming obstacles. Chisai is asleep between them with her head leaned on Kia. She is snoring.
“I expected the Hell Zone to be a void,” she says. “The variety of life out here is unbelievable.”
“Yes, and they present an unlimited array of unknowns and danger. I can’t help but wonder how long before we encounter an animal wanting to sample us for dinner or kill us out of fear.”
“Don’t say such a thing,” she says.
“We must plan for the worst and strive for the best,” he says. “Otherwise, we’ll be caught at some point along the way.”
“I understand, but I don’t want to think of those things. She glances at Chisai with compassion. “Jadan, let’s adopt her. She’ll need us to take care of her. Can you imagine the fear of the unknown ingrained in her?”
“I don’t think I can comprehend her anxiety. Even so, we’ll do all we can to minimize her difficulty adjusting. She’ll never be an unpaid slave again.”
“I think—Jadan. Did you spot something?”
“Did I do what?”
“Something crossed the trail in front of us about twice the size of us running on all fours.”
“I think you’re imagining things. The power of suggestion—we talked about—” before Jadan can finish the sentence, something large hits the vehicle and almost turns the unit over. Everyone on board is jolted awakened and holding on for their lives. They settle on the ground, and after rocking a few times, come to rest on all six tires.
“What happened?” a sleepy Renny asks.
Something behind Dérobé-1 lets out a chilling scream, so loud as to hurt the occupant’s ears. The beast hits them again knocking the left side into the air before they can recover from the previous jolt. They balance on the three wheels on the right for what seems an eternity. The vehicle can go either way. The passengers lean uphill, and the unit begins to fall tires first back to the earth.
“Get us out of here.” Kahnn yells to Jadan. “The thing is going to kill us.”
He is struggling to regain his composure when the wheels make contact. The computer drops from Kia’s hands, hits the side, ricochets off, and falls to the floor. For a moment, he thinks the processor is going to slide from under the skin. He fights to maintain control, while she tries to reach the device without falling out. He grabs the steering wheel and presses the accelerator all the way. The vehicle accelerates slamming them against the seat backs.
“Is everyone okay?” he asks.
“What is the thing?” panic engulfs Riah. “Are you aware of what hit us?”
The trail remained smooth, and all slept except Kia and Jadan. In an attempt to conserve fuel, he piloted Dérobé-1 at a moderate pace when the incident occurred.
He is now at full accelerator heading into the dark—Kia is working to get control of the computer the shock turned off—or damaged. She is rushing to get the top open and boot the device.
“What’s ahead of us?” he asks.
“I’m blind—the processor is down. I’m trying to boot and can’t determine if the drop broke or shut off the CPU. Be careful while I try to get us up again.” Fear grips her, but she remains controlled. A few minutes later, she says, “The appliance appears to be booting. Why don’t you slow down a little before you hit something?”
The moment Jadan decides to reduce speed, the beast lets out another piercing scream. Tensions in Dérobé-1 escalate as he speeds full throttle into the darkness ahead. “How long can I run so fast? I hope I don’t wreck us waiting for the CPU.
“The computer is back up—I need a minute, to get a fix on our location. Oh, no, we’re in a box canyon with no way out but back the way we came—you’re about to hit a series of sizable— her voice trails off as Dérobé-1 ramps up a huge rock and flips over on the right. They recognize the scream of the creature in the distance.
“The monster is still coming,” says Kahnn. “Get the guns and machetes and let’s get out of this thing. We’re going to be forced to fight, and I can’t find my night-vision goggles? They are lost.”
“Who found theirs?” Renny asks. He confiscates Kahnn’s.
He, Jadan, and Kia are the ones who can picture what’s heading toward them. The creature is about four meters tall, black, rises up on the hind legs, and makes another slap at Dérobé-1. This time, the unit rolls to the top. They are trying to get into firing position, while she grabs a machete, and with Chisai clinging to her, she backs away from the animal. Again, the beast screams and waddles toward Jadan. In his fright, his fingers are not functioning, as they should. He can’t get a bullet into the chamber. He focuses on the problems with the gun and is not aware of how close the thing is to him.
Kia detects his dilemma and rushes the backside of the animal before the thing reaches for him. She swings the machete with all her strength and senses the impact as the blade sinks into the hairy flesh of the attacker’s leg. A spray of hot liquid hits her in the face and all over her front side. Another horrifying scream accompanies the second swing of the machete—another solid hit. She pulls back for yet another, but the creature whirls and strikes her in the chest, knocking her about three meters backwards. The blow puts her into a state of semi consciousness and separates her from the machete. Panic grips her as the beast turns and takes two short steps in her direction. Seconds later, she gazes at the huge black mass falling toward her. She rolls away as the monster falls face down where she earlier laid. She struggles as she attempts to get to her feet. Three times, she tries to get up—each time, she fails.
“Are you okay?” Jadan shouts as he rushes to her. Chisai is about five steps behind him.
“I think so,” She says, unsure of her condition.
“Don’t get up,” Kahnn yells. “Don’t try to get up yet. We need to make sure nothing’s broken. Renny, where’re the lights?”
Half an hour later, they cleaned Kia’s face and her wounds and are standing at the creature examining the carcass. “You cut a major artery.
Two-hour effort and they failed. The stubborn unit remains on its back like a distressed turtle. The twilight of dawn appears on the horizon. “Renny, find us a place to spend the day. I don’t think we dare to stay out here much longer. We can talk strategies for getting the vehicle back on its wheels once we are settled. Let’s find a large pole and some wooden blocks or rocks to make a long lever. We’ll need something to slide under to hold her up each time we make a lift.”
The sound of someone running startles the group. He comes from the woods yelling, “A patrol’s coming this way. They found our tracks when we ran from the creature. I counted at least four men, and we must hide fast.”
“Something is wrong with the mission. They were scheduled back two days ago. Do I hear suggestions from the floor?” Eath Marshon holds a session with a number of the key individuals at the spacecraft.
“This undertaking is important. I think we need to develop a rescue plan. The problem is we can’t verify if they made the target. The hunt for them is going to be like probing for a specific atom in an ocean,” Smid says with frustration. “We’re going to need a plan—a little magic will be good.”
“The last time I went on R and R, I overheard a conversation about OFGRAT hacking into one of the visual satellites. Perhaps we can determine if the statement is a fact,” Relo says. “The technique is a stretch, but—if we can get the previous ten days’ history from the satellite and zoom in on the compound maybe we can find something. Otherwise, I can think of nothing workable.”
“Not bad—I’ll make some calls on the secured line and find out what I can. Meet me back here in two hours, and I’ll inform you what I discover.” The doctor dismisses the group.
They walk away and Kedraleona approaches Relo and says, “What a high-powered meeting. May I ask the agenda?”
“Jadan, Betta Kahnn, and Renny are more than two days late returning from a mission to Raefell Nuggen’s mountain compound. Marshon is worried—we’re trying to generate a plan for a rescue attempt. Did you and Professor Keena find the key to the prehistoric texts?”
“A little, but the translation isn’t working. We must locate some writing in a familiar language and the same message in the ancient text. We should be able to find one. We overheard rumors a group of archeologists on a dig in lower Bozza may have discovered such a key. The professor is going back to Krest tomorrow to review the new information. This might be the breakthrough we’re searching for.”
“I hope so. Jadan and I made progress on the software, but we need to cross the language barrier to read the manuals, control panels, and labels around the ship. What do you make of the one hundred cages they found on the lower level?”
“The placed is eerie. They hauled something alive in them, but they are too small for most livestock. I’m at a loss what to think. Oh, I meant to tell you—I sold my shops in the city. I won’t be returning. With all going on here, the action is in Abydos. All my belongings will be delivered to my new house in about seven days.” She evaluates his reaction.
“Excellent—I dreaded your return to Krest,” he says, happy but awkward with the information.
“Why I didn’t think you cared,” she says, in jest. “I hoped you would be pleased, besides you still owe me a complete tour.”
Dr. Marshon reconvenes the meeting.
“I contacted OFGRAT, and they acknowledged they hacked into one of the visual satellites. The one they hit can view items as small as point five centimeters. They’ll be transmitting the last ten days’ history this evening. Relo, I’ll need you to provide a workable program for the data. I recommend we do everything possible to determine if they got to the compound. Let’s put all effort on the complex for now.
Furthermore, I talked to the Head of the School of Archeology at Abydos University. He confirmed they found what appears to be the same information written in multiple languages. He believes them to be the key to allow us to break the language barrier and begin translating the CoPa.”
They scramble for cover and stare from a distant thicket as the four troopers approach the carcass of the beast.
“What do you make of this?” the trooper asks.
“Someone got lucky. I’m aware of rumors of the existence of such creatures, but I didn’t believe them to be true. I thought these things to be a myth,"” another says.
“Over here,” says a third as he stands staring at the underside of the overturned Dérobé. “They’re on foot now. Examine this thing—the bottom is visible—the rest is wrapped in a material producing invisibility. No wonder we couldn’t find them.”
“They enjoy some amazing technology,” the leader says. “Too bad, the thermal orbiter detonated. We’re aware they’re in this general area, and the device would locate them for us.”
Kahnn turns to Jadan and asks, “Did he say the heat-seeking satellite exploded?”
“Yes he did. What a lucky break for us, but now what?”
“Let’s split up and spread out,” the troop leader says, “Stay on frequency two on your ‘Walk Talk’. Alert me the instant you find any sign of them.”
“Are you going to notify the captain?” one asks.
“No.” He explains. “A sizeable reward is offered for the safe return of Nuggen’s grandchildren. Our part will be less, if more are involved, so let’s handle this situation ourselves. We’ll split the script four ways.”
“What do we do about the others?” another asks.
“Kill them—easier for us to control and get back with the twins if we don’t need to worry with them. Am I clear?” the leader asks.