Chapter 74

... Jeff had also heard the door close, and shoved Helen into Diana's arms, causing Diana to stagger, Laura grabbing Helen to help. He pulled his .45 from his waistband and started down the hall, but even as he did so, he saw Arlene at the intersection of the hallways and knew he was too late.

Jeff figured one of the mercenaries had to be in the hallway, and was probably doing the same thing Arlene was. (Slicing the pie at the intersection.) He also knew he would never make the intersection in time, and that Arlene was doing this because all the women would be vulnerable to the mercenary's fire once the mercenary came around the corner.

Jeff saw Arlene tense up and knew it was now or never. Bringing the .45 up, he began firing. Arlene flinched when the first round hit the chandelier's chain in the corner of the two hallways a few feet above and past her. Four more rounds hammered out of the big pistol so quickly they almost sounded like one. The chandelier's lights went out as its wiring and supporting chain were severed, and it came crashing down. But Arlene with her quick mind had already figured out what her father was doing.

The area she was in was now a bit darker than the area behind the mercenary, which caused him to cast a slight shadow. That's all she needed. She now knew exactly where he was. She stepped around the corner, her Glock already firing.

Guterrez had heard Arlene as she approached the intersection. He was no dummy, and indeed, had practiced and used in combat what both he and Arlene were now doing. Confident that he was going up against a civilian, and more so, a woman or girl, he wasn't overly concerned. Indeed, he was more worried about Matthews — he assumed it was Matthews — who had just shot well enough to cut the chandelier down.

He and Arlene had seen each other a split second before she began firing. But Arlene, being Arlene, had already pulled her top up, exposing her breasts, and Guterrez lost a half second as his eyes were distracted by the two beautiful mounds. That glance at her breasts almost negated his training edge.

Arlene's first round just touched his cheek going by. Her second caught him just under his left eye, but ... he had gotten a round off as well. His round hit Arlene just under her left breast. The military ball ammo in the small 9 mm submachine gun went through her and out her back, spraying blood as it did so. She collapsed without uttering a sound, as did Guterrez.

Jeff was there seconds after the fight. Glancing at the dead mercenary still twitching on the floor, the Prime quickly knelt by his daughter.

"Did I..." she managed to sigh out, barely a whisper.

"Yeah, you did, Baby. You killed him dead. Now let's get you taken care off."

Jeff stuck the .45 under his belt, picked his daughter up and ran as only a Prime could, her weight unnoticed in his arms, the terror of what had been done to his daughter driving him.

The women were holding the door to the kitchen and as soon as he was inside, Laura slapped the button that would seal the room. The steel door slid out of one wall and deep into the other with a final sounding clang, the door to the dining room doing the same.

"How is she?" Diana cried out as Jeff knelt to put Arlene on the floor. Laura snatched the Healer off Helen and handed her to Jeff, who put her over the wound in Arlene's chest. No sooner had Little One locked into place, she sent out a mental pulse so strong that it temporarily stunned everyone in the room. Both Jeff and Diana, already kneeling beside Arlene, slumped forward for a second. Kayla staggered and went to her knees. Everyone was disoriented for a short time. By the time they could focus again, there was a deep orange glow surrounding Arlene and Little One.

When Jeff tried to touch Little One, his hand felt practically no resistance, but just slid away from her. The same thing for Arlene. He tried to mentally call Little One, but there was no answer, instead there was a void where she should have been in his mind. Although Arlene seemed to be faintly glowing, the brightness was greater around her wounds and around Little One.

"What's Little One doing?" Diana hissed out, the tears pouring down her face, all the women now crying.

"I ... I got a deluge of information when she did that ... thing. That broadcast, I guess you could call it. Crap, maybe a memory dump or something. I think that glow is some kind of field to stop time, or slow it down, if I'm interpreting correctly what she sent. But the information wasn't meant for me. She was calling ... It came across as 'Mother or Momma, ' although I know that's not right. But she's calling for help. There's no doubt about that part of it."

"Stasis field," Helen, now conscious, shakily said as she struggled to push herself to a partial sitting position. "The glow is something like a stasis field, I think."

"You shouldn't be moving around," Ann chided as she gently hugged her sister-wife, sliding behind to support her.

"Little One stopped most of the bleeding. I'll be okay," but her weak and shaky voice belied her words.

Jeff whirled to Laura. "There," he said, pointing to the small appliance garage on the back of the kitchen counter near where she was standing, "Get the satellite cell out for me."

THE HIDDEN BASE

General Whitworth sat reading through the files that Lieutenant Campbell had sent him from Colonel Buckmann's computer, the frown on Whitworth's face deepening. Suddenly he sat bolt upright. Hitting the intercom, "Get me Colonel Matthews on the phone. Now! And I mean right now!" he yelled.

In the office, the sergeant spun around and pointed at a clerk, but the clerk was already pulling Whitworth's personal phone list up, and was soon dialing. After a moment, the clerk shook his head and looked at the sergeant. "It rings, then I get an 'out of service' message."

"Make sure you dialed the right number. Dial back. Keep trying," the sergeant snapped over his shoulder as he jogged toward Whitworth's door. Inside, a couple seconds later, "Sir, no answer. All we're getting is an 'out of service' message on his home phone." But the General had already dialed Jeff's sat phone and was listening to it continuing to ring.

Whitworth was just about to hang up when an overly-loud voice came on the line, "Hello, this is Laura."

"This is General Whitworth. I have reason to believe..."

"General, we need help!" she broke in, almost yelling. "We've been attacked. Arlene is hurt badly — really, really bad. I think she's dying, but Little One is working on her. Helen has been shot, too."

"Sir!" the sergeant yelled out, pointing to the wall monitor where scientists and techs were scrambling from the Ship like the hounds of hell were after them. He clicked on the audio and winced at the volume of the alarms blaring. To make matters even more chaotic, a team had just left the barracks, running full out toward the Ship. All had their combat helmets on and were carrying their rifles, but one was running barefoot with his boots thrown over his shoulder. They merged with the crowd exiting the Ship. He would give them credit that the team didn't seem to deliberately run over anyone. But there were several civilians on the floor when the team made it to the Ship.

"We're coming Laura," Whitworth yelled into the phone before slamming it back down.

Colonel Buckmann walked into Whitworth's office. "What's going on?"

"On the floor, you son-of-a-bitch," Whitworth yelled out as he pulled a .45 from a hidden compartment in his desk and stood. But the sergeant had already kicked Buckmann's feet from under him and had his 9 mm against the back of the Colonel's head.

General Whitworth was snapping his equipment belt around himself and reaching for his battle helmet as he yelled out, "Strip the son-of-a-bitch naked. Put him in a cell until I get back. If he tries to give anyone an order, kill him. There are two other names on that pad there," he said, pointing. "Lock them up, too. Don't let any of them talk to anybody."

Whitworth picked up his phone and punched in a code. The alarms cut out and the speakers changed to the warbling wail of base full-lock-down. "Get Major ... Oh, there you are Major," Whitworth said, as Major Bailey ran in. "Until further notice from me — personally — my base is under full lock-down. Nothing in or out until I get back. Nothing! And that includes all communications other than mine. You're in command until my return. Nobody ranks you. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Sir!"

"This sergeant will advise you," he said, pointing. "You will listen to his advice. Do I make myself clear?"

"Absolutely," Major Bailey said.

"Sergeant, you will brief the Major on what I told you. There is additional information on the screen there," he said, pointing.

"Sir, where are you..."

But the General had already slipped his battle helmet on, although he hadn't closed the faceplate or activated the computer yet. "You two keep my base intact. You have the authority to do whatever is necessary to do so. With a full lock-down, that shouldn't be a problem. I've got to go," he said as he glanced at the monitor before running out the door, scattering people before him.

The last of the civilians had managed to get off the Ship just as Whitworth burst out onto the floor of the hangar, the Ship rising up about five feet just as he did so, her massive landing jacks disappearing into her belly. "Don't you fucking leave without me!" Whitworth screamed out. Putting his head down, he sprinted, glad that he had continued to run almost every morning throughout his career. The ramp disappeared. "Don't you leave without me," Whitworth gasped out a second time, but he couldn't spare enough air for a third time. Frantic, he found yet another small reserve of strength and concentrated on increasing his speed just a little bit more.

When he was twenty feet from the Ship, the ramp appeared again. The Ship seemed to impatiently wait. Whitworth never slacked up. As his leading foot touched the ramp, he, the ramp and the Ship suddenly ceased to exist in the hangar.

There was a clap of what sounded like thunder in the big cavern. Startled by the noise, women screamed and men yelled, adding further to the pandemonium. A small table holding two laptop computers turned over by the blast of air rushing toward the vacuum caused by the sudden departure of the Ship. The two metal folding chairs that had been by the table, turned end over end to add to the clamor. Small equipment, plastic boxes, loose paper, dust and generally anything that had been near the Ship scattered about as the suddenly empty hole in the air was filled. Then the wind stilled except for a few eddies that caused paper to scurry about for a second before everything came to rest, a faint haze of dust clouding the air.

One of the scientists leaned over and offered a hand to a buddy. "What the fuck happened?" the one being helped up asked.

"I guess that thing just told us to kiss its ass," the other said. "You hurt?"

"No. Just my pride. That big fucker swatted me aside like I was..."

"Yeah, I know, I managed to get out of his way just in time, but that's not what I meant. I've never felt anything like that in my life. It's like there were a million giant spiders after me. I just dropped everything and ran."

The other scientist shivered. "It was different with me. It was like there was something — something unseen and evil, kinda like my ex-wife," he tried to joke, "coming down the alleyway behind me. I've never felt terror like that. Whatever it was, it was worse than any nightmare I've ever had. I still have goose bumps on my arms," he finished, holding an arm out to prove his point.

"You guys okay?" their boss asked, walking up.

"Yes, Ma'am," they both answered, a bit sheepishly.

Doctor Meadowood smiled at them and nodded toward where the Ship had stood, "I guess she gave us a subtle nudge to get the hell out of her."

"That was subtle?" one of the scientists said with a half-chuckle. "Damn, I'd hate to meet pissed."

"We're alive aren't we?" Meadowood grinned back at him. "And speaking of that, wasn't that Colonel Matthews' team? The way they looked as they headed for the Ship makes me believe something, or somebody is going to die — somewhere."

"Wasn't the last guy running for the Ship the General?"

"Looked like him," the other scientist said.

"Generals don't go on missions," the first scientist said.

"Yeah, well, I wasn't about to remind him of that when he jumped over my ass," his buddy returned indignantly.

Doctor Meadowood looked around her. "Anybody hurt?" she called out to everyone. When there was no answer, "All right. Show's over. Let's get this mess cleaned up."

THE RETREAT

Laura hung up the phone. "The General said they were coming."

But before anyone could respond, "She's stopped breathing," Jeff said as he knelt by Arlene's head. Leaning forward, he tried to position Arlene's head so he could breathe for her, but his hands slipped off her chin. Trying again, he met the same result.

"Jeff?" Diana said, agony in her voice.

"It's the stasis field," Helen said as she slowly knelt beside them, Ann helping her.

Helen extended a hand to run over Arlene's side. "See, you can't really touch her. There's almost no resistance." As she pushed her hand closer to Little One, Helen added, "Notice, the field becomes more intense nearer the wound. Near Little One and the wound, you can't feel anything. You can feel her extremities quite a bit more, though," she finished as she ran her hand down Arlene's arm. "Jeff, I think you can lift her if you keep your hands away from the wound area."

Helen sat back on her butt, Ann again helping to support her. "I'm almost sure it's a stasis field," Helen continued. "They're theoretically possible. Obviously, it is more than just a theory with Little One."

"And all this means..." Diana injected, fighting to keep from ringing her hands as she knelt on the other side of her daughter.

Helen sighed, holding her hand over the gauze pad that Ann was taping to Helen's side. "I'm guessing, but if it is a stasis field, then time has stopped for Arlene, or slowed down drastically — and maybe for Little One as well."

"But, how could that heal her?" Melissa asked.

"I don't think it can," Helen said as she tried to take a deeper breath and winced as the pain from the cracked rib shot through her. "I think it's keeping Arlene from dying, though," she finished as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"But that ... mental thing that almost made me throw up," Ann said, then as her quick brain figured it out, "Oh, Little One..."

"Called the Ship," Jeff injected. "If she was successful, it won't be long."