Tindal swallowed hard; the Chief was not someone you crossed very often. But, damn, that was sweet!
Chapter 34
The two SEALs were not aware of the leather-skinned creature sitting near the horseshoe-shaped bar, as he nodded to another of his kind near the doorway. The second creature slipped out the front of the tavern just moments before Tindal and Rutledge did, and sprinted around the nearest corner to the building. In the alleyway were four other leather-skinned beings.
“Two of them,” the scout said quickly, as he pulled out a six-inch long blade from a pouch under his brown vest. The other four creatures each held knives as well, and two also carried clubs in their other hands. They fell back against the wall of the alleyway as they heard Tindal and Rutledge approaching.
These two have credits and they are weak and intoxicated, the scout thought. This will be easy.
Just as the SEALs came even with the alleyway, three of the creatures jumped out in front of them blocking their way, while two more slipped in behind. They brandished their weapons at the two half-drunk SEALs.
“Give up your credits and other valuables!” The scout said, waving his blade rhythmically back and forth in front of the two men.
Tindal and Rutledge stopped and looked at each other, wide grins spreading across their faces, their eyes lighting up. Rutledge was the first to move. He reached out and grabbed the scout’s blade arm, pulling it towards him. And then in one continuous move, he tucked it under his right arm and spun to his left, kicking out with his left foot, contacting one of the creatures behind him in the chest. He twisted his body sideways more and felt the scout’s knife arm bend upward at a totally unfamiliar ninety-degree angle. The alien gasped sharply as his arm snapped, before vomiting and passing out. The other being behind him felt the cracking of his sternum — or whatever bone was in the center of its chest — before falling to the ground.
In the meantime, Tindal had reached out toward the closest alien to him and snatched his blade away. The move was so fast that the SEAL had already plunged the knife back into the being’s own chest before it even knew it had been taken from him. And then Tindal threw a lightning-fast right cross into the face of another of the creatures. His fist impacted the skull, deforming it to half its original diameter. Next he sent a round-house kick into the side of the creature behind him. The leathery being flew through the air and landed near the middle of the street, its body bent in places that were not meant to bend in such a way.
The entire attack had last four seconds, and now five aliens lay either dead or unconscious around the two SEALs. The men surveyed their handiwork while also looking up and down the street to see if anyone had witnessed the massacre. Satisfied that they were unseen, Tindal slapped Rutledge on the shoulder, “Uh-rah!” he said to his grinning Navy Master Chief. And then they left the carnage behind, continuing on their journey down the sidewalk and back to the spaceport, laughing and recalling the afternoon’s fun as they went.
Even though Lt. Tobias was grateful for the intelligence the two SEALs had provided concerning the recharging crews, he was livid at the unnecessary attention they had drawn to themselves. Arm wrestling aliens and deadly street brawls — and all in the span of three hours. Such reckless behavior was to be expected out of the fiery young petty officer, but not from the Master Chief.
“Sorry, sir,” Rutledge said as the two enlisted men stood at attention before the Lieutenant. “No excuse — it’s just that we’ve been cooped up inside these spaceships for way too long without some action.”
“Well, Chief, the day-after-tomorrow we go down-range again for some real superman-type action. You two had better keep your shit tight or it’ll be the last action you’ll ever see — and you could also get the rest of us killed in the process. Think on that for a while. Now get the fuck out of my sight!”
Tobias watched the two men sheepishly leave his quarters, and then a wide grin stretched his face. God, I wish I could’ve seen that!
Chapter 35
Tobias couldn’t trust Rutledge and Tindal to be out in public the next morning scouting the recharge crew assembly area again, especially with all the newscasts talking about the killing of three creatures and the crippling injuries suffered by two more outside the tavern the day before. So Tobias and Sherri went instead and stationed themselves in an eatery with a clear view of Gate 43-A of the OASG.
The orbital crews came and went, and it was easy to identify the Travess crews by their distinctive uniforms. But what made the recon especially gratifying that morning was the witnessing of the module supply transport arriving at the security gate. It was a large black truck with sixteen wheels and easily measuring twenty meters long. It moved through the gate without fanfare and pulled up next to one of the large recharge shuttles.
There was a flurry of activity as crewmembers offloaded the contents of the truck, placing the oblong metal canisters on a conveyor belt that delivered them into the ship. These had to be the energy modules Jym spoke of.
As Tobias watched the activity through a palm-sized spyglass, he figured this only made sense. He was sure the modules have to be come in a variety shapes and sizes to accommodate the various makes of starships coming and going from Zinnol, so each job would require a new supply of the appropriate units.
This could also be their way into the compound.
Tobias made a call on his secure comm device to the JU-224 and told Riyad to rent a transport as soon as possible and then to meet them at the eatery. His plan was to follow the supply truck to its origin and figure out the best place to affect a hijacking.
Sherri and Tobias sat nervously waiting for Riyad to arrive, hoping that he would get there before the truck left the spaceport. Their hopes began to fade when they saw the huge truck making its way toward the security gate — and still no Riyad. The Juireans were arriving the next day, so they only had one crack at this.
The truck passed through the gate and turned right, heading south past Tobias and Sherri. The two Humans stood on the sidewalk outside the restaurant and watched their best chance of rescuing Adam speed past.
And then Riyad pulled up to the curb. Sherri and Tobias flung open the doors of the small transport and jumped in. Riyad sat at the controls, grinning. “What’s up?” he said, not sensing the urgency.
“Follow that truck!” Tobias yelled looking over his shoulder in the direction Riyad had just come from.
“What-”
“That truck — follow it. Hurry!”
Riyad shoved the center joystick forward and twisted it to the left as he did so. The transport surged ahead, making a sharp U-turn in the middle of the street. Another transport on his side of the street nearly hit him, but instead swerved onto the sidewalk and slammed to the front facade of the restaurant Sherri and Tobias had just left. Glass and pieces of plaster cascaded down onto the transport, nearly covering it completely. Half a dozen creatures ran out of the building in a panicked rush.
By this time, Riyad had sped off in the opposite direction, snaking his way between other vehicles until he was only about twenty meters behind the huge truck. The massive vehicle was easy to stop, not only from its length but also its height. Once he was in a comfortable location behind it, the three Humans began to relax.
“So what’s in the truck?” Riyad finally asked.
“With any luck, it will be us tomorrow,” Tobias answered. “It’s a supply truck for the energy modules. If we can intercept the one restocking the Travess ship for the Juirean run, then we can load it up with our equipment and drive right up to the front door of the recharge shuttle. After that, it shouldn’t be too hard to overpower the crew and take over the ship.”