10 - …And Games in Town
(H2Z-118 – Village of Pal - Year 3, Day 12, 1015)
Scott had introduced his team and then Ga-25-H had given them a tour of the village. It was indeed a collection of farms, but one building – a large barn – had been turned into a large still. Ga-25-H had explained that this was an official government still and that soldiers were not allowed to go there, because the political leadership was afraid that they would get drunk and go around looting, raping and murdering. So they had authorized the still crews do what was necessary to deal with any violators.
Ga-25-H was now leading them into the lab next to the still. This was where they tried to refine and improve their product. There was also a table with eight chairs. The lab doubled as an office and town meeting hall. They all sat down, with Ga-25-H sitting across from Scott.
“So, Matt..,” He began. “…May I call you Matt ?”
“Only if I can call you Ga,” Scott said with a smile.
“Ga is fine with me. Now, Matt, our security sensors have detected your second team already. So would you please ask Commander Young to bring his team into the town ?”
“Scott to Young.”
=/\=Young here. We’re holding position outside the town. Are you okay ?=/\=
“Yes, sir. The locals have extended an invitation, sir,” Scott paused. “I think it would be best if you took them up on it. These people are friendly, sir.”
There was silence as Young considered his next move.
(H2Z-118 – Dry Creek Bed - Year 3, Day 12, 1015)
The medical team had arrived and treated the wounded. The bulk of that team had left – heading back to base – with their security officers staying behind to reinforce Dr-28-A’s patrol. The base had also send out another patrol to back them up. But the aliens were already making their move. A second team had circled around the patrol and was now entering the town from the other side. The problem was that he would have to wait for his reinforcements to make his move.
~Of course, I still have to figure out a way to get them out of there.~ He wanted to capture the aliens, learn about them. But if he went into a town with a Hive Official Still – or HOST, as it was officially called – his superiors would come down on him and his men like a ton of construction material. ~HOST ? Who came up with that name, anyway ?~ It sounded like something from a badly written piece of fan-fiction. On the other hand, the stills served an important function.
The booze they produced was shipped throughout Hal’Iry space. It was divided into rations that were given to the civilian population by means of lottery. The lottery was part of several measures that the higher-ups had taken to prevent dissention in the ranks. For now, however, Dr-28-A, had other things on his mind. He needed to come up with a plan to get the aliens out of Pal. So he kept watching.
(H2Z-118 – Village of Pal - Year 3, Day 12, 1022)
Young, Scott and Ga-25-H were sitting in the lab-slash-meeting hall, while most of the others – led by Lieutenant James – were outside and keeping a close eye on the Hal’Iry team just outside the town. The only exception was TJ, who was talking to one of the locals, Mz-10-X. There was a still aboard the Chaser, which could make medical alcohol.
But stills could also be used to distill water. And while the one aboard ship was big enough for ship’s alcohol needs – medical or otherwise – it was not big enough to provide a supply of distilled water. The Pal still, however, would be able to provide them with several bottles of the stuff.
“So, Commander,” Ga-25-H began. “we are in major trouble here. The Hal’Iry are not tolerant of other species. In fact, if it was up to our political leaders, we would conquer the universe and wipe out everybody not part of the Hive.” He paused. “The only reason we haven’t, is because we lack the numbers and resources.”
“Why are you telling us this ?”
“Because I became the leader of a HOST for a reason…” He leaned back. “….namely, that I am not the biggest fan of our political leadership. And most of the Supreme Commanders are fools. Villages like Pal had certain liberties that the average settlements lack. If you had entered a normal village, you would have been executed by now. Which brings up to the subject of the patrol outside the town limits…”
“So going further from the Stargate…” Scott said.
“Would be a real bad. They will either kill you, capture you, or both,” Ga-25-H said. “And if they find out how to work the Stargate, it would be bad. And not just for you. Because if we go to war, thousands of my species my will die. Not to mention all the people who will lose their loved ones. And that’s just our side.”
Young turned to Scott. “Lieutenant, can we talk outside ?”
“Yes, sir,” Scott said.
The two of them walked out of the building. As soon as they were out of ear range, Young turned to Scott. “So, do you believe him ? Because to me, this whole sounds way too lucky. A whole planet full of hostiles and we happen to stumble upon the one friendly town in walking range of the Gate ?”
“I know we are taking a risk by believing him, but if the Hal’Iry really are a predatory species and they figure out how to work the Gate…”
Young nodded. ~That would be really bad.~ Scott thought. And he got the impression that Ga-25-H was a straight shooter. Besides, if he had wanted to hurt them, he could have done so before. Instead, he had given them a tour of the town and kept the ground forces at bay. And Colonel Young was not the kind to gamble with the future of a species or a galaxy.
“Okay,” Young said. “Back to the ship it is.”
Before Scott could reply, Varro came running. “Colonel, we have a problem,” He began. “Our alien friends are setting up some kind of grenade launcher. I think they are done waiting.”
Two seconds later, the enemy opened fire.
(H2Z-118 – Dry Creek Bed - Year 3, Day 12, 1025)
Dr-28-A watched as another grenade hit and exploded. He had wanted to wait a bit longer, but his superiors had called him and demanded that he should move in now. They had also wanted the aliens alive. Apparently, they knew something about the Aliens Rings. Fortunately, they had several smelly bombs at their disposal. They had just fired all eight of them into Pal. ~Of course, these things are designed to work against Hal’Iry. Not….aliens.~
His troops were covering both paths from the town. As soon as the aliens left the cover of the buildings, they would be stunned and taken away. And they would have no other choice. The bombs had made the air impossible, or near impossible, to breathe. Dr-28-A gave his troops hand signals and then readied his weapon. Several more seconds passed and then….nothing happened. ~What the…~ He gave it twenty more seconds, then ordered his men to open fire.
The shots penetrated the cloud and hit…..nothing. He stood up and walked into the cloud. His troops followed. The bombs were no longer emitting gas, so the cloud was slowly starting to disperse. And through the thinning gas, he could see that the only people outside the buildings were his troops. And then all hell broke loose.
(H2Z-118 – Pal Underground - Year 3, Day 12, 1026)
What Ga-25-H knew and Dr-28-A did not, was that Pal had originally been an illegal still. And that as result of that, there were several tunnels underneath the town. And the current town had been built on top of an older version of the town that had burned down several years ago. Except the basements had survived. Finally, there were several maintenance rooms for the local sewer and the electricity grid. The result was an underground labyrinth. But Ga-25-H knew exactly how to navigate it. And he was leading Colonel Young and his people through away from the town.
“Won’t this get you into trouble ?” Young asked.
“No, if they arrest me, the still will shut down and that will causes riots all over the place,” Ga-25-H said. “Plus, they would have to admit that they were in the town to begin with, which is clearly against the rules. And anything regarding the Stargates is classified at the highest levels. The average citizen barely knows that they exist,” He paused as he turned a corner. “The last thing would want is to attract attention to them.”
“Playing games with the higher ups ?”
“Like I said, I am not their biggest fan.”
“Why do I have a feeling that you are not the only one in Pal who feels that way ?”
“Because you are right, I have been playing games,” Ga-25-H said. “And I’ve been gathering people who have the right skills and who agree with me about our leadership. Pal is a harbor for the rebellious. Of course, there is only such we can do,” They turned another corner. “But I had to start somewhere.”
They reached the end of the tunnel. There was a heavy wooden door, which Ga-25-H opened to reveal a stone stair that was covered in sand. Ga-25-H pushed one of the bricks next to the stairs and the structure turned into a slope, causing the sand to slide into the tunnel. He pushed the brick again and the stairs moved back into place. Then he led the way up the stairs. Scott was surprised to see that they were only fifty meters from the Stargate.
~How come we didn’t see this ?~ He looked around and saw that the entrance was hidden by several shrubs and a patch of long grass. They made their way towards the Gate. Rush took out the Gate remote and began the dialing sequence. Ga-25-H watched as the Gate did its job, then whistled at the wormhole formed.
“Temporary subspace wormhole ?” He said, looking at the event horizon. “Takes you apart at the molecular level, transmits you to another ring, where you are put together again. Does it hurt ?”
“No, it doesn’t hurt.” Scott said. “And you can tell all of that by just looking at the Gate ?”
“Well, we might spend several nights doing some unauthorized research on the Ring,” Ga-25-H said, before turning to Young. “Like I said, Pal is a home for the rebellious, Commander. And we are playing for all the marbles. Get out of here and make as few stops as possible, Commander. And prepare for a running firefight.”
Young nodded and led the team through the Stargate. As he made his way out of the Gate Room, he thought about what he had learned on the planet. They were in hostile space, which would make resupplying harder. And it would only be a mattered of time before they tried to attack Chaser the old fashioned way. So the game was now truly afoot.
No comments:
Post a Comment