Tindal’s eyes grew wide. “You! What are you doing here?” he blurted out.
“I said I was transferring,” replied the creature Tindal had referred to as The Incredible Hulk two days before. “But I should be asking you the same question. And are these weapons you brandish?”
Tobias and Sherri had also jumped out of the back of the truck and taken up flanking positions next to the two SEALs. The other aliens had noticed the weapons and had moved to hide behind the massive green creature as best they could.
“Look, we don’t want to hurt anyone,” Tindal said. “All of you just move quietly and quickly back inside the shuttle and there’ll be no trouble.”
Lornius looked over at the other three Humans standing at the rear of the truck, yet his eventually locked on Tindal. “Hurt anyone? I am not afraid of you, weakling. And I do not recognize your weapons.”
“Friend of yours?” Tobias asked, leaning in closer to Tindal. “Remember, we don’t want to use our weapons unless we have to. Deal with this.”
Tindal nodded, and then flung his MP7 over to Rutledge. “Hold this for a minute, Chief.” He then looked at Lornius and smiled, a grin so wide, bright and toothy that its meaning was unambiguous to the hulking alien.
In a fit of anger, Lornius rushed forward, his massive arms leading the way, no fear or uncertainty in his charge. Tindal let him come, and at the last moment, slipped to his left while lashing out with his right fist. The blow caught the larger alien under the right arm pit, issuing forth a tortured cry of pain from The Hulk. Lornius twisted toward Tindal, just in time to catch another powerful blow across his chin. He blinked several times as a dull look crossed his face. And then Tindal — not wanting to delay the inevitable any longer — moved in closer and raked his right elbow across the head of the already disoriented creature.
Lornius’s eyes rolled back in his head and he tumbled over backwards, landing in a cloud of light red dust in front of the other shocked members of his crew. By the time the reality of The Hulk’s defeat had dawned on them, Tobias and his team had moved up and began to force crew back toward the recharge ship.
In a moment, they were all inside, with Kaylor and Sherri now standing guard while the SEAL’s and Riyad returned to the truck to offload the weapons and ammunition. They each took a side of the crate and pulled it off the truck, stepping around the now-still hulk of green alien lying on the ground.
“That must have felt good,” Rutledge said as he and Tindal carried the crate past the body.
“Almost better than sex, Master Chief. Almost.”
Soon both crates were on the recharge ship and Kaylor had moved to the pilothouse with Riyad right behind him.
“Any word on the assignment yet?” he asked the alien.
“I’m checking. I don’t see anything yet.” Kaylor scrolled through a number of the screens so fast that even Riyad was impressed. He stopped at one. “Excellent! Here are the instructions for approaching a Juirean ship. I was very worried about this part of the plan. I now have a guide-”
He stopped abruptly as a transmission came through on the comm channel. It was a digital transmission of considerable length. Kaylor keyed the board for the message to be displayed in Belsonian, his native language. He began to read.
“Here it is. It is a contract, and with instructions to proceed after module-loading to the Juirean battlecruiser now entering orbit. It has worked! The plan has worked!”
Riyad grinned. “Did you have any doubt, my friend?”
“Yes, of course I did. Jym even calculated the odds at less than twenty-percent for success.”
“He did? And yet you’re still here with us, as part of the Team.”
Kaylor was silent for a moment, yet his eyes glowed with a brightness Riyad had not noticed before. “You are correct. We fight alongside the Humans now, come victory or defeat.”
Riyad placed a hand on Kaylor’s shoulder. “Glad to have you along, Kaylor, and your little friend, too. Now let’s get Jym airborne and prepare for the destruction of The Secura. Our day is just beginning.”
Chapter 38
Jym expressed gushing relief when he received the call from Kaylor instructing him to take off and proceed to the waiting point in orbit above Zinnol. And then once all the weapons had been secured and the alien recharge crew stripped of their uniforms, tied up and locked away in the aft cargo hold, Kaylor began the liftoff sequence. They would start out on chemicals, and then transition to gravity drive once they reached an altitude of about twenty kilometers. After that, it would only be about two minutes before they would be back in space again.
Kaylor began the approach maneuvers long before the Juirean ship was even visible. The procedure called for a lineup a hundred kilometers out, and with no deviation allowed; the Juireans needed ample time to analyze the approaching vessel to determine its credentials. Once competed and verified, the Juirean sent out a transponder beam that Kaylor was to follow precisely to the docking port.
Tobias, Sherri and Riyad were now in the pilothouse of the shuttle, dressed as best they could in the Travess green and orange uniforms. The uniforms the two men wore fit fairly well; Sherri on the other hand was having trouble breathing in hers — the cut of the outfit did not allow for Human female breasts.
“It’s time, Kaylor,” Riyad said. “Let’s do it.”
Kaylor took out the small control box he carried in his utility pouch and turned it on. There was a small joystick and monitor screen on the box, and Kaylor began to operate the controls with skill.
“I’ve activated the chemical drive,” he narrated, watching the screen on the box. “Gaining altitude, now at five kilometers — as you Humans measure it. That should be sufficient. We would not want any defense utilities to have time to counter the attack. Beginning the descent.”
Riyad peered over Kaylor’s shoulder at the tiny screen. All he could see was a representation of the surface of the planet and a tiny white dot above it. The dot moved abruptly, angling back toward the ground. It was over in a second.
“Impact. On target,” was all Kaylor said.
“Good,” said Lt. Tobias. “Now they have a lot more to deal with down on the surface than just a hijacked supply truck. Let’s get ready to rumble.”
Kaylor looked back at him; Tobias stopped the line of questioning with his raised hand. “Let it go, Kaylor. Just let it go.”
Chapter 39
All five Human team members were now suited up for the coming assault. Since they would be going up against energy weapons, they chose not to wear the normal military tactical gear, including flak jackets. Instead, they began with Adam’s single-shot diffusion shield outfit. This was a tunic that had been fitted with dozens of wires forming a mesh. If struck by even a level one bolt, the charge would dissipate along the wires, greatly reducing the effect. However, if hit, the wires would heat up and melt, making the suit good for only one shot.
Over the tunics, they dressed in the Travess recharge uniforms, which they had learned were a basic protection against the radiation leaking out from the various modules and generators.
The team had taken several of the extra uniforms and cut them into capes. The colors and fabric matched the uniforms, so they were hoping the crew of the Juirean ship wouldn’t think anything about the unusual garb. Under the capes they would carry their weapons.
The five Humans carried HK MP7A1 submachine guns. They were lightweight weapons designed for Close Quarter Battle. They were fitted with a 40-round magazines, and members of the extraction team carried four extra magazines each. The barrels had suppressors attached to them, extending the normal 7.1-inch long barrel by six inches. This would negate some of the CQB effectiveness of the weapon, but it would also muffle some of the sound of fire as well.