Chapter 427

The Retreat

...”Yes, Sir,” Jeff responded through clamped teeth.

“Colonel, we’ve been over this before. Ship, out there,” he said while vaguely motioning toward the back of the Retreat, “is too important to our planet to risk. And before you say anything, “yes, I certainly know there isn’t anything on Earth that could destroy her, but she has already told you that she must have a Prime ... and you’re it. What would she do if you got yourself killed, hmmm? Would anything keep her on Earth? She wants to try to find the race that created her brain. Would she go looking for them and never return? Why should she come back?

“Before, when I sent you on missions, you were the very best I had. Maybe the best on Earth, but that pales in comparison now. I can not risk you. And you still manage to get into enough shit as it is, but by damn, I will not allow you to fly an interceptor against those aliens.”

“We might not have to fight them, General. They might be peaceful after all...”

“And that wish and a couple of bucks might buy you a plain cup of coffee somewhere. Look at the vids of that thing – the alien ship, I mean. It was made for war. And what about the Paladins? Those damn things are bristling with weapons, too. Do you expect them to be carrying diplomats who only want peaceful trade with us? We’re going to be at war with these aliens, or at least that particular ship. Hopefully, they don’t have faster than light communication with their home world – or worlds. We have no fucking idea who they represent, but a race that sends out a vessel like that, damn sure isn’t looking for trade, at least not the peaceful kind. Of that, I’m absolutely certain. I’ve had my experts study the vids and they agree that monster seems to have numerous odd looking gun turrets that might very well be beam weapons – and they are huge.“

“But my wives...”

Whitworth stopped him with a slightly raised hand, “Forbid them from going if you’re worried about them. Some of the aviators might die in the battle, but they are the best I have. They’ll get the job done.”

“Shit, Sir. Do you think I haven’t considered forbidding them? But my wives persist in destroying the aviators as if they’re just learning to fly. Will the aviators really get that job done without Arlene, Ann, Bill and Kathy to help? I lie awake nights worrying about my wives, my Alpha and his wife, but what if some of those Paladins get through to Earth? I’ve seen their weapons in action. They could tear your base apart in seconds. What could they do to New York, or Los Angeles, or any city for that matter? Our fighter aircraft could never keep up with them, nor follow them into space. I suspect they could even fire from orbit. And that is assuming that Ship can stop that monster of theirs. She is positive she can, but she can’t be everywhere at once. If I were attacking a planet, I would disperse the Paladins well away and have them come in from all directions. How can Ship prevent that?

“Oh, she will put up weapon platforms, but the sheer volume of space will be on the aliens’ side. Many of the Paladins will slip through, and I hate to think how much damage just one of them could cause. I’m not even sure that Earth’s weapons could knock one down, no matter the circumstances. I’m fairly certain the Paladins have shields, but I don’t know their strengths. Still, I worry that they might be capable of shrugging off Earth’s best weapons. The technology that’s represented by just being able to build and launch a starship trumps anything produced on Earth.

“Dammit, Sir, the real battle will be between the Paladins and Ship’s interceptors, even if Ship manages to take out that monstrosity straight away. They’re going to descend on Earth like a herd of locusts.”

With Jeff’s mood, the General didn’t bother to correct the mixed metaphors as the Prime went on. “I need to be in one of those interceptors. General, please watch those vids of the Paladins’ practicing, yet again. We can’t let even one of those things reach orbit. We just can’t.”

General Whitworth had felt the power of the Prime’s intellect before, and didn’t want to push Jeff too much. He knew that Jeff would and did respond to rank – up to a point – but Whitworth wasn’t foolish enough to think that he was really the boss if the Prime was pushed too far. “Colonel – Jeff,” Whitworth said with a little less intensity as the two sat looking at each other while the seconds seemed to ticked slowly away. Finally, he decided to change the subject and sighed before continuing. “I have several vids of Morales that I would like you to watch.”

Jeff sat stiffly for a moment, then seemed to relax. “I guess that’s a good idea, Sir, but I...”

“We can continue this discussion later, Colonel.” Then with his voice changing tone, “Who knows? Maybe something will change about the situation.” Motioning to the big screen as he picked up the remote, “I’ve already watched these, but I think you’ll get a kick out of them too.”

As they watched from a view that appeared to be twenty feet or so from the front entrance of the cave, the portal opened and two techs stepped through. Obviously knowing that Morales and Lobo weren’t around, they quickly entered the cave, the view by the almost microscopic camera following them inside. While one worked on Morales laptop, the other opened several of the sealed cases that had come with the resupply case, inserted items and closed the cases back up.

At Jeff’s raised eyebrow, the General grinned back. “Yeast. He kept bitching about not having any yeast, so while we were updating his computer, I had my techs put in a few small items. Who knows how long it will be before he looks in the cases again, but when he does, he should discover that we’ve stuffed packets of yeast under some of his things, as well as a couple more surprises. Chances are he’ll think he just didn’t see the yeast and other items when he looked through the cases after rescuing the resupply case from the stream.”

When the techs were done, they checked around, obviously making sure they had not left any evidence that they had been there, exited the cave and stepped through the portal.

“Now comes the fun part,” Whitworth said with eagerness sounding in his voice. The video blipped forward to show Morales and Lobo’s return and the subsequent search by Lobo. After they had watched the segment, Jeff commented, “That was almost cruel. The wolf absolutely knew someone had been there, but he couldn’t tell Morales.”

Whitworth shrugged. “Yes, but all that searching by the wolf, not to mention his subsequent actions, still seemed to convey the point to Morales. But ... there were no tracks, and we watched both search the nearby woods for footprints, but Lobo just would not give up. He knew there had been men in the cave, and ... I think Morales is becoming almost as certain. He only has a high school education, and even then, he certainly didn’t make the best grades, but I suspect that was because he didn’t apply himself. He’s certainly proven that he’s far from stupid ... Just look at the pelts he has hanging on that wall, and he has more than enough food stored to get him through the winter in style – provided it doesn’t spoil, that is. And even if some of it does, he’s managed to put meat into the ice cave. He’s going to make it.”

Jeff frowned. “Unless his luck runs out and one of those cave bears decides to come visiting for real.”

“Just got this last segment a few minutes ago, and it’s the main reason I wanted you to watch the vids.”

“Let me get a fresh cup,” Jeff said with his first real grin since their discussion about the aliens.

As the Prime stood, “No need to ask,” Whitworth said as he slid his cup over to Jeff. “I drink as much of the stuff as you do.”

As they sipped the coffee, they watched as Lobo alerted and the cave bear made its aborted attempt to get through the passageway. When the segment was over, Jeff leaned back. “Shit. He doesn’t stand a chance against that thing. Like I said before, we either need to send somebody through with a .50 and put an end to the bear, or else pull Morales.”

The General stared at Jeff. “Dammit, Colonel. It’s a prison planet. He’s been convicted of murder and sentenced to life.“

“Shit, Sir. I’ve killed a hell of a lot more people than he has...”

“And it was war or else you were protecting our people. And the ones you killed fucking needed killing.”

Jeff saw his chance and, with a barely suppressed grin, snorted, “So did the ones he killed.”

The General sighed. “You’re fucking splitting hairs. You want to bring him back. And just what the hell would I do with him if I did? He didn’t get along worth a shit in our society before. Granted, he’s shown himself to be an excellent survivor in 2214’s environment, but that doesn’t transfer to being a good citizen here on Earth. And we’ve already discussed what would happen if the wolf came back with him. Morales stays, Colonel. I don’t have any other choice.”

“But General, he doesn’t stand a chance against that damn bear,” Jeff insisted. “He might as well be sticking pins in it instead of shooting crossbow bolts into it. Oh, it might die of blood loss or infection sooner or later, but Morales and the wolf would be long dead before it does. If the bear corners them in the cave, they won’t stand a chance.”

“So what do you want me to do?”

“Like I said before, send me back with a .50 and let me put paid to that big bastard’s ass.”

“There are several of the fucking bears,” the General pointed out.

“So? I’ll just take extra ammunition.”

Whitworth sat turning his cup around and around while he thought. “No. The bears have killed other prisoners. We told Morales there would be extreme danger.”

“But it was either 2214 or a trip to the sun,” Jeff pointed out.

The General turned more fully to face Jeff. “You find me a solution and I’ll listen, but I’m not sending you back bear hunting. I am not risking Ship’s Prime. And before you even say it, I’m not sending anyone else to kill bears, either. Now, let’s talk about the aviators’ training program ... And while we’re at it, I want to hear how Diana talked you into letting her go – not to mention Selina.”

The Prison Planet

Morales halved the sourdough starter, fed half of it and began mixing flour and the other ingredients into the other half for his bread dough. Having baked bread several times now, he was able to work while his mind attacked the cave bear problem. With his hands covered in flour, he glanced over at the beams he had sawed from the tree just down the hill. That bastard is going to keep coming back until he manages to get in here or I kill his big ass, but I sure would like to have that pelt. Shit, with just it, I could cover most of the front wall if ... Always if. If. If. If I had a fucking hunting rifle.

Glancing again at the beams, in his mind’s eye, he saw again the ballista from the computer. “I need to bring in the rest of the oats, but what if that big bastard finds me in the open?” Then after a look at Lobo, he mused, Even if I do manage to get up a tree far enough to stay away from the bear, Lobo will still be on the ground, and dammit, he won’t leave me. He’ll stay to fight – and be killed. And that is not going to happen if there’s any way I can prevent it.

With the dough left to rise, he strapped on his weapons while telling Lobo what he was going to do. With a set of wheels, his axe and saw, the two left in search of a tree just the right size. An hour later, he had the mounting pole for his ballista cut and in the cave.

Ten feet or so back from the bars, he dug a hole a bit more than three feet deep and the diameter of the pole, which was roughly a foot in thickness. After muscling the eight foot pole in, he tamped dirt around it, adding a few smaller rocks to help wedge it solid. This left him with approximately four and a half feet of the pole above ground to form the base of his ballista.