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Three hours later I had seven sightings of “unusual” occurrences in the caverns. Although in three of the sightings only a shadow of a man appeared — a dark form with arms and legs, but too fuzzy to reveal any features. He or she had little substance at all. Just a shadow falling across the hard ground. In two of the sightings the shadow, very briefly, solidified and looked — at least for about three seconds — like a man. Or, as might be the case, an inhabitant of Sandeling. In the other two sightings the object that briefly appeared didn’t look human. It didn’t look like anything. Just a dark blob.
The technicians on the squad who were studying the phenomenon said that if I wanted definitive conclusions within a few hours’ time I was being impatient and unrealistic. It might take days, weeks, months or even years to determine what was going on.
I was reminded that there are some alien artifacts on other worlds that humans have studied for decades without coming to a conclusion on what they were made for or what function they perform. Which was true, but didn’t help the current situation.
The Panther said his theory was somebody – he assumed the native population of Sandeling – was trying to communicate with us. Although where the native population was located remained a mystery. We had scanned and rescanned the planet and our computers told us there was no life on the ice – besides Ryvenbark’s Raiders. The Intrepid had scanned the solar system and assured me there was no other life form on the six planets circling the sun. There were also no friendly or alien space ships nearby. However, Capt. Liddel said the Federation had dispatched two ships that should arrive within three days.
So where was the Sandeling population?
The Eisenhower and the Valiant carried loads of scientists who would tackle the problem once they arrived. The Federation’s view was we had pacified the planet, so it was now safe for the scientific community. I wasn’t so sure. I had requested two dozen backup security people from the Intrepid and Captain Liddel had agreed.
I had just stuck a cigar in my mouth when Rab came in and saluted.
“Any news?” I asked.
“No, sir. Everything is quiet. We have every cavern in the region staked out. Right now we’re seeing a few flashing lights and nothing else. Every soldier is on red alert.”
“Good.” I sighed. “I’m from the South. I don’t like icy climates. No native of Florida should be surrounded by ice.”
I walked to my desk and pulled open a drawer.
“Want a drink?”
“Don’t mind if I do.”
I pulled a bottle of Ancient Age from the drawer, then grabbed two glasses and set them on my desk. I poured until both glasses were half-full. Rab grabbed one and swallowed half the bourbon.
“At times I wonder why I picked this profession,” I said.
“Maybe it’s the great pension plan.”
“But on the plus side, I met Astrid, so I don’t regret it. But it does get frustrating at times.”
Rab had eased down into a chair. “You know we’ve been in freezing climates and have fought in temperatures over a hundred degree. Been in forests and been in deserts. Do you realize we’ve never been sent to an island with tropical temperatures and bathing beauties?”
“Which Astrid would say is a very good thing.”
Rab drank the rest of his drink. “Waiting is always tough.”
“Yes, it’s preferable to be shooting somebody. At least that’s not boring.”
“And we’re very good at it. We have to be or we’d be dead.”
“But I’m sure they would have given us a good eulogy.”
“Yes, I want dozens of women crying at my funeral. I think that would be a nice send-off.”
“I would say I only want one at mine, but Astrid has informed me she has to die first. She doesn’t want to be here without me, which I think is rather sweet.”
“I have two ex-wives who said they’d much prefer to be without me,” Rab said.
I sipped some of the bourbon. “You think we could ever adjust to what is called a ‘normal’ life?”
“No.”
“Well, it might take a little practice, but we might be able to slide into it.”
Rab shook his head. “We’re used to living close to the edge. But that’s only one aspect of our lives. We’re used to achieving difficult goals and we’re used to doing jobs that are important. Often we achieve great things. Could you lay that down and open a business? Could you sit around and collect coins?”
“I might be able to sit around and play golf a couple of times a week. I consider making a sub-par round to be greatness.”
“Whenever you tried that Logan, it didn’t work out.”
“Not yet. That doesn’t mean it never will.”
“True. Age changes us. Marriage changes us. The job changes us. I don’t think I could ever retire, at least not right now, but maybe you could. Besides, we like challenges. Some men run away from challenges. We run toward them.”
I sipped more of the liquor. “Perhaps. But that tendency does cut down on the life expectancy.”
Rab raised his glass. “But when we go, we haven’t led lives of quiet desperation.”
“Yes, we’ve led lives of frantic, hectic desperation.”
“And achievement.”
Before I answered Rab, I answered a call.
“Yes, this is Ryvenbark.”
“Major, this is Riley, third level. We have one. A man appeared in one of the caverns. But he’s in bad shape. He’s unconscious.”
“Get him to our medical room. Hurry!” I said.