Chapter 3: The General

Doctor girl looked around the crash site before climbing into the helicopter. Her body language and the faint mutterings that Caleb heard, screamed her reluctance to leave. Caleb could understand her reluctance. What person, with even a glimmer of imagination, would want to leave the crash site of an extraterrestrial space ship? Two other hazmat-suited soldiers climbed into the helicopter before Rifle guy number two gestured towards the chopper, indicating that Caleb should precede him. Rifle guy number two didn't even give a curious glance back at the scene.

Caleb's fuzzy thoughts were considering the differences in his fellow passengers' imagination, when the increased roar of the engines preceded the choppers leap into the air. His thoughts were clear enough, but he was concerned about how difficult it was to think. It felt like his thoughts were being sidetracked. His thoughts eventually reached their conclusions, after briefly wandering around in his mind.

The chopper crew chief announced, "Clear," after they were airborne, and the soldiers began removing their hazmat suit helmets.

Medical girl was the first to get her helmet off. She was a pleasant sight, from what Caleb could see of her. Her hair was a very light brown with almost blonde highlights, and was pulled up on top of her head in a bun. She had a sprinkling of freckles across her nose and cheeks. When she smiled at him, he could see her straight white teeth.

"Hi," she said, holding out a hand that was still gloved. She looked down at her hand apologetically and said, "The air is clear, but everything in here, including us, will need to be decontaminated before we can touch anything. I am Captain Jane Janis ... um ... Doctor Janis."

She grinned at his expression, when she said her name. Caleb liked the way her smile easily reached her eyes.

"Yeah, I know," Doctor Janis said with a grin. "I almost didn't get married because of his last name." She hesitated for only a moment, then continued, "Most of my friends call me JJ. Do you still need some aspirin?"

Caleb clasped her gloved hand, and returned her grin with a strained version of his own. "Yes, please. Aspirin or Excedrin, anything for this headache. And my friends call me Caleb."

Rifle guy got his hood off, and looked across at Caleb with a sheepish grin. He was only a kid, maybe twenty years old, with very short blonde hair and a gap-toothed smile.

"Sorry about that back there. The General ordered Security Condition One when we hit the hot zone," Rifle guy said with a shrug.

Caleb smiled back and said, "That's okay. I understand orders, and the need to follow them, even if you don't like them. That's why I didn't stay in."

"So, you really were in the military?" the kid asked.

"Yep, in the Army, but that was a long time ago. I liked the experience and wouldn't trade it for the world. The things I learned, and most of the people I worked with, were exceptional. I even liked the regimentation, in a way, but it turned into too much of a good thing. I like being able to say no to my boss, if I don't agree with what they tell me to do," Caleb concluded with a strained smile.

"Two military issue Tylenol," Doctor Janis informed Caleb, handing him two pills. "I shouldn't give you anything before your blood workup, but a couple of Tylenol shouldn't make a difference."

Caleb gratefully gulped the pills without water and said, "Thanks. I hope it helps."

"So do I. I'll see about getting you something else if you're still feeling bad, after we finish the medical screening," Dr. Janis assured him.

It was less than a twenty minute ride to the base with very little small talk over the roar of the engines. Caleb was grateful for the lack of conversation, because it gave him an uninterrupted chance to think about what had happened. He couldn't say anything to anyone, or they would lock him up for the rest of his life. He couldn't pretend that it wasn't a spaceship that had crashed, not after the General's assertion. Did something, or someone, really talk to him? Could he deny that?

Caleb admitted to himself that, while working for the state, he had perfected his art of self delusion. He didn't feel bad about it. He noticed the same skill in others, both state employees, and people working in the private sector. He also noticed that skill in the art of self delusion provided a semblance of peace and happiness. That was all Caleb had been striving for, since his years in the Army. His skill in self delusion didn't mask his regret at not being able to help the little guy in the space ship.

By the time they arrived at the landing pad, Caleb had concluded that he had played it right, when the Army came calling. He needed to continue to act the way he started until he got clear of the Army. Then he would worry about talking to little green men, even if he couldn't remember the color of the little man he had talked to. Besides, the little guy had melted. Caleb felt bad for him, but he needed to focus on his immediate problem. How was he going to get away from the Army, and stay away? Caleb knew that his current situation could possibly turn into a long term incarceration. He had no illusions about how thin the protection of the US Constitution really was.

He was still wincing at loud sounds as they settled on the landing pad. He struggled to focus on what was happening around him, but it was difficult. It felt like the mother of all migraines was coming on. That, combined with his mind going over the events at his camp site, kept him pretty confused.

There was organized chaos when they arrived at the base. Apparently someone had called ahead, and they were expecting him. He was hustled to a tent enclosure by some guys, or gals, in different colored hazmat suits. Caleb hoped they were guys. Otherwise, someone was getting quite a show. Then he saw the security cameras, and figured out that more than just those present were getting a show. He was stripped, and washed down. All the water that sluiced off him was collected in a separate container. Even his hair was washed, three times. He was finally given a gray, short sleeved jump suit to wear, without underclothes. Caleb realized, after a few moments, how underappreciated underwear was, as he tried to adjust the jump suit to lessen the scratchy material's chafing. After he was dressed, he was led inside one of the old style Quonset huts. He didn't even know the military used these types of buildings any longer.

The outside of the Quonset huts may have looked like a fifty's style Gomer Pyle flashback, but the insides looked like something out of a futuristic movie!

Caleb was led by more hazmat suited figures to a small chamber, and told to sit inside. One of the smaller figures informed him that he would only be in the chamber for ten minutes. They needed to get complete breath samples to get an idea of what he had breathed at 'Ground Zero'. That is how she said it. He could hear the capital letters and the quotation marks in her excited voice when she said the words.

So he sat for ten minutes, watching what little activity he could see through the little window, and tried to think.

His head still felt full, and it still hurt like hell. Caleb decided that his head might feel a little better than it had, so maybe the Tylenol were helping. Besides the slightly receding pain, the full feeling in his head seemed to be reducing slightly, too.

Caleb thought about, and examined, that full feeling, now that he had time. He felt like he had eaten a big meal, and felt uncomfortable, and wanted to loosen his belt a notch. Except this was in his head, and there was no belt to loosen!

He was pretty sure something did happen out in the desert. He had never been prone to having hallucinations, and saw no reason to believe he had started now. However, when the choice was between hallucinations and the incredible, it was pretty tempting to go with the hallucinations. His skill at self-delusion aside, his doubt that he had hallucinated, solidified his belief that something did happen. The trouble was, each time he tried to think of speaking with the alien, his thoughts skittered away like a frightened cat.

Caleb was worried. His emotions were vacillating between disbelief, incredulity, wonder, and fear. His thoughts wouldn't focus on a single train of thought. Caleb prided himself with his control of his emotions, and his ability to reason. Those skills were why he was a good investigator. He didn't think he could investigate how to tie a shoe in his present condition.

He couldn't talk to anyone about it. That was for sure. This was worse than his near miss of being invited to spend time in Leavenworth, when he tried to hit his company commander. A couple of friends had tackled him, so he hadn't actually hit the asshole. After, Caleb had experienced nightmares about meeting someone at Leavenworth named Bubba, and learning a different category of people skills. If these people even had a clue about what had happened, then he would still have things shoved up his butt and down his throat. The difference would be that there wouldn't be an end to the sentence, or the hope that he would die soon. They would keep him alive for a very long time, and the torment would never end.

Caleb looked up at the camera in the corner of the little chamber, smiled, and waved, and then focused his gaze out the little window again. Cameras were everywhere, he had noted.

He had to continue to give the impression that he was just a hick that was pissed because his pickup was broken. Being pissed wasn't a hard emotion to work up. It seemed that his emotions had been on a roller coaster ever since, whatever happened, whatever...

'Okay, time to shelve those thoughts until I can get out of this mess, ' he thought to himself.

The door to the little chamber opened, and Doctor Janis smiled at him. She no longer had her hazmat suit on, so Caleb could get a good look at her. He liked what he saw. She stood about five-two, with a slim build. Not boyish at all, because there was no doubt that she was all woman. She was a very nice package indeed.

"Are you ready to get out of there, Mr. Connor?" she asked with an infectious smile.

He had to smile back and asked, "Is this where you put all the bad little boys that smart off to the general?" as he stepped out of the little chamber.

Her eyebrows rose slightly and she said, "No, the General has a special black hole where he puts people that really smart off to him."

It was Caleb's turn to be startled, and he blurted, "You mean, he really is a General?"

Then he realized the soldier on the chopper had referred to Command Guy as 'General, ' too, but he hadn't caught it. He needed to stay on his toes, and keep his wits about him, if he was going to get out of this mess.

The doctor's grin faded, and she said in a very serious tone, "Yes, and Brigadier General Branch is no one to mess with. Just go with the program. You should be out of here and back to Phoenix by tomorrow..." she looked at her watch, grimaced, and continued, "well, maybe later today, now, I guess. We might even be on the same bus, unless I get stuck here. The Army has a daily bus schedule for reservists coming from Phoenix on weekends. We're lucky they didn't cancel the busses, with the budget crunch and all. There is really no way to tell when we'll get out of here though," she said with a sigh. "The Incident is still in progress, and I'm not sure what the General will consider a resolution for something like this."

Turning she said, "Come on. There are a bunch of tests that I need to run on you. We need to make sure you weren't infected by something, or hurt by any of the fumes at the crash site."

Following her, and lengthening his stride to match her hurried pace, he asked, "What kind of tests?"

"Probably the most complete physical you have ever had," she replied, striding down a hallway at a brisk pace. "By the time we are through we will know what you had for lunch last Monday, what kind of shampoo you use and the last time you had sex."

Doctor Janis's pace faltered, and she blushed at the last part of the statement. "Sorry, ah, doctors have a tendency to be very ... ah ... relaxed about natural functions and ... ah ... I guess I felt relaxed. Um ... Sorry," she repeated, her face flaming.

Her blush highlighted her freckles. She was really cute.

"Well, that's a change of pace, Doc," Caleb said with exaggerated relief in his voice. "Most pretty women that I meet just run screaming. You know ... boring DES investigator, geologist as a hobby, type of guy. Relaxed is a really nice change. Unfortunately, it is a phenomena that only happens with married women."

Her blush deepened, but she smiled back and said, "Thanks ... um, thanks for letting me off the hook. But, for your information, I'm not married, and my name is JJ, remember?"

"Oh, I thought that was only for your friends," he said, trying to flirt in his own lame way.

He was sure that she had mentioned being married, during the helicopter ride. For some reason, her telling him that she wasn't married thrilled him. She was cute, but he was out of the habit of flirting.

"I guess we can be friends, for now," she said, still smiling. "Doc, or Doctor, or even worse, Captain, all sounds so formal and cold. I'm not used to it."

"No problem, JJ. Remember, though, that my friends call me Caleb," he said with a strained grin.

"Touché," JJ said. Stopping in the hall, she turned to him and, holding out a hand, said, "Hi Caleb, my name is JJ."

The moment their hands touched there was something like a snap, as if there had been a static discharge. He knew she felt it too because he saw her eyes widen briefly. It was more than a static charge though. Caleb was aware of her like he had never been aware of another human being. He didn't know what she was thinking, but he could feel what she was feeling. He knew one of her army boots was pinching her toes on her left foot. Her bra was chafing slightly on her right breast, but she was too embarrassed to adjust it.

The feeling of awareness was gone as fast as it came, but the knowledge remained.

JJ jerked her hand back, startled, and demanded, "What the hell was that?"

Caleb frowned at the sudden influx of information, and thought frantically for an appropriate response, then said, "Damn static. I always get a static charge in this dry climate, but that was one of the worst. It must have something to do with sitting in your little cell back there."

JJ looked doubtful, but said, "Yeah, it could have been static. The chamber has no humidity at all, so that could increase a static charge." Shaking her head in dismissal, she turned and continued down the hallway at her original brisk pace. "Come on, we have a lot to do."

For the next four hours or so, Caleb had a couple of pints of blood drawn, and he had been right about having every orifice in his body probed. An instrument that felt the size of his arm was even stuck up his urethra for a sample. He asked JJ if she thought an alien was going to crawl in there too. She was having a little problem already, because he couldn't stop his erection, when she tried to take the sample. She didn't answer his question, but blushed furiously and left the room.

Caleb kicked himself for not controlling the crude, rude manner he had fostered while working at DES. A few minutes later a male nurse that looked a lot like the Bubba from Caleb's nightmares came in and got the sample. No problem staying soft with that guy.

Later, when JJ came back into the examining room, Caleb apologized.

"JJ, look, I'm sorry, and that comment was uncalled for. I know you are just trying to do your job and make sure all my parts, um, that everything is the way it's supposed to be. My, umm, I really couldn't help, ah, my doctor in Phoenix is an old guy and, ah, my reaction was, um..."

He was stammering like a high school freshman trying to hit on a senior girl. He was blushing now. He didn't blush!

JJ was still blushing, but she smiled and let him off the hook with the comment, "Don't worry, Caleb. I will take it as a compliment that I caused you to react to me like ... um ... you know what I mean."

Her blush deepened at her inability to find the right words, and her freckles stood out even more.

Caleb relaxed a little, and smiling, said, "You sure have pretty freckles."

Her blush deepened even more, but she continued with the examination and said, "Thank you," before mumbling something about needing to stay professional.

Finally, he was given some very bland food that was supposed to be a meal, and was shown to a small room with a cot, so he could get some sleep. The room had a camera mounted in the corner next to the ceiling. The cot was one of those standard military cots that he remembered with such sour memories. It wasn't quite long enough for him to stretch out comfortably, and so narrow he couldn't roll over without repositioning himself in the center of the cot. There was a door that he discovered led to a small head and shower combination. Some towels, soap, a toothbrush, and toothpaste were on a shelf, but no razor.