Alien Manifesto (18 page)

“
Which meansss ssSniggle will be
relying on sssecurity mechsss and electronic sssensssorsss
inssstead,” Snarth hissed. “We will ussse a tried and true plan of
attack jussst like we did on ssShorty. Human Tom and the feline
massster will paraglide from the ssshuttle to the planet sssurface.
Once there, they will disssable the mechsss and sssensssorsss,
allowing the rest of usss to land unopposssed.”

“
I would prefer that ssSniggle did
not know that I ssstole hisss map. We have learned that ssSniggle
will be away on busssinessss for ssseveral daysss in seven light
cycles,” hissed Snarth. “ssSSlice will make a replica to replace
the map with. The replica will direct whoever isss able to
transsslate it in the opposssite direction from where we are
going.”

“
And where might that be?” asked
Rowl.

“
To the home world of the Ones,”
answered SSlice. “I have located a planet that has purposely been
left off all official navigation charts since the Great War. Even
its name is classified.”

“
How did you find it if it has
been excluded from the navigational maps for the past 500 years?” I
asked.

“
I came across a reference to an
unclaimed life world that had been found by an explorer named King
just before the Ones began their war of conquest. It is just a
contract from one brother to another that I found in the archives
of a long abandoned space station. Its coordinates are the same as
those for the mystery planet that I have known about for some
time.”

“
And what sector is this mystery
planet located in?” growled Rowl.

“
It isss in the Orion clussster,”
hissed Snarth softly.

“
That entire area is quarantined,”
growled Rowl.

“
And now we know why,” hissed
Snarth. “My friendsss, you didn’t expect thisss to be an easssy
thing did you? If it wasss, the treasssure would have been
dissscovered long ago. We have to get the map firssst then we will
worry about the quarantine. We leave for ssSniggle’sss compound at
0400,” hissed Snarth, ending the briefing.

After a successfully unobserved paraglide, the
feline master and I had landed about one click from Sniggle’s
estate. It too was located on a small moon orbiting a populated and
busy planet, just like Snarth’s estate. However, Sniggle did not
own the entire planet so the only terraformed property was located
under an electromagnetic shield to hold in breathable atmosphere
and provide security.

As I scanned the terrain, I could see only a
barren, rocky and lifeless expanse leading up to the edge of the
energy field. It was difficult to see beyond the energy field’s
distortion but I could vaguely make out what must be lush green
gardens.

Following the feline master’s lead we slowly
made our way closer to a blind spot in the energy field. Whoever
had installed this field must have been lazy or underpaid, as they
did not clear away the large boulders, choosing to run the energy
field over the top of them rather than move them.

It would be an easy insertion with the
equipment we had brought with us. We had a device that would
redirect the energy field up from the ground enough so the feline
master and I could slip underneath undetected. When we reached that
particularly large boulder that is exactly what we did.

I signaled Snarth from my wrist pad that
insertion was complete and we were attempting to disable the
alarms. Then the feline master and I unslung the personal anti-grav
sleds we carried and glided above the laser beams and pressure
sensors that we knew to be there.

I was getting nervous; there
was no sign of any security mechs, which meant they were cloaked
and very difficult to spot.
What about
those motion sensors?
Sensing my anxiety, the feline
master signaled. “We need not worry about motion sensors as Sniggle
lets his pets fly around inside the energy shield. That is why I
chose the anti-grav sleds.”

“
What if SSlice’s information is
wrong? What if they are waiting to ambush us?” I
signaled.

“
Patience, Human Tom, all of
Sniggle’s security personnel abandoned him some time ago because he
couldn’t pay them. They may have taken the mechs with them.” Still
I was nervous, remembering my encounter with cloaked security mechs
and the death of my friend, the old master.

~

I need not have worried about cloaked security
mechs; it seems Sniggle had a couple of special surprises for us.
His “pets” guarded his estate. The first attack would have come
from the air in the form of several very large and angry “birds”.
They looked like something from the dinosaur age on
Earth.

~

However, the feline master and I were cloaked
and the birds hunted primarily by sight. Still we endured several
close flybys, one close enough to nearly knock me off my anti-grav
sled.

As we neared the main house, the birds peeled
off and disappeared. I readied myself for whatever came next. I did
not have to wait long as two large carnivores suddenly appeared
right below us. They had spotted motley fur and were four legged,
much like hyenas, except for the fangs, which were like a saber -
toothed tiger’s. As a precaution, I floated higher, not knowing how
high they could jump. They obviously knew we were there as they
growled and pawed the ground directly beneath us.

As the feline master and I circled the main
house, the beasts followed. “Report,” flashed across my wrist pad.
It was Snarth wanting an update. As I filled Snarth in on our
situation, he instructed us to tranquilize the animals, not stun
them, as blasters may set off the alarms.

I heard a soft pop of
escaping gas as I sighted in on one of the beasts and pulled the
trigger, releasing the tranquilizer dart. I scored a direct hit on
the beast’s haunch, at the same instant as the feline master. Both
animals immediately slowed down noticeably and were soon immobile.
Now we were free to enter the main house and disable the security
system so the rest of the team could land.
If only it had been that
simple
.

After we managed to open the door using the
codes supplied by SSlice we found not only a security mech but also
remote blasters guarding the main corridor as well. We only had a
few seconds to find the remote security access pad and enter the
security code, in order to prevent the security mech from
challenging us and keep the remote blasters from firing
automatically. I barely noticed the scorch marks on the stone walls
of the corridor as I hurriedly looked for the remote security pad.
Fortunately for us, it was right where SSlice said it would be. The
main computer then accepted the code SSlice had procured,
deactivating all the security systems. Now the rest of the team
could join us.

As I watched, SSlice made his way up the wall
then turned upside down and moved, in that eight legged gait of
his, across the ceiling, heading toward the main safe where the map
was hopefully stored. SSlice secured a web to the ceiling and
slowly let himself down in front of the safe. He then produced
several electronic gadgets from his vest and attached them to the
safe. Within seconds, he had the safe open.

The only thing in the safe was a document. It
was scorched on one end, with only a few words on it and several
drawings. Quite a letdown after all we had been through to get it.
I had expected to see it was made out of solid gold or something
like it.

“
Well ssSSlice, isss that it?”
hissed an impatient Snarth.

“
It would seem so but I will have
to decipher the words once we get back to the ship, as there are a
couple of letters I don’t know the meaning of because I have never
seen them before,” answered SSlice in his whispery
voice.

“
Then make the copy and let’sss
get out of here before thossse petsss of ssSniggle’sss wake up and
caussse trouble,” hissed Snarth.

We had brought along a way to cover our
tracks. It was Shorty’s bad luck that he was it; because when those
beasts woke up they would be hungry. I felt no sorrow for Shorty.
He had killed my friend the feline master. Where he was now, he
brought upon himself.

I do remember the sight of Shorty being
brought down by Sniggle’s pets as the shuttle exited the energy
field. I did not shed a tear or look back, for that might mean I
cared which I did not. I now had my revenge, bloody and terrible. I
had seen many men die when I was with S.E.A.L.s. It did not bother
me then and it did not bother me now. Better him than me, that’s
what I think about the whole thing.

Later at Snarth’s estate in the dining room
after much food and drink, I smiled as the Irishman mimicked how
Shorty had run from the beasts.

“
A toassst,” hissed Snarth, “To a
sssuccessssful raid and vengeance all in one. Now azsss sssoon
azsss ssSSlice hasss deciphered the map we leave for the forbidden
planet or wherever the map sssendsss usss. I can tell you that it
will be no easssy tasssk. We will not have the pleasssure of
fressshersss or mech ssservantsss to cook our mealsss. If we get
into trouble no one will come to our ressscue. We have all trained
hard for the lassst couple of monthsss and I am confident we can
overcome any obstacle thrown at usss,” he hissed. “ssSo get sssome
sssleep, training ssstartsss at 0400.”

~

0400 came and went several times with no word
or sight of SSlice, and Snarth was getting impatient. After dinner,
he paced the dining room instead of joining the team in the usual
Belgian ale nightcap, quite unlike him.

The tension affected the other team members in
different ways. The feline master sharpened her claws completely
oblivious to Snarth’s pacing. The Irishman cleaned and sharpened
the team’s weapons. The canine master practiced his roundhouse kick
and shadow boxed an invisible opponent. I had another glass of
Belgian ale and a smoke, waiting and watching my teammates,
practicing my patience.

Just as suddenly, the waiting was
over; SSlice appeared, putting a halt to Snarth’s pacing. All eyes
turned toward him in anticipation of an explanation for his
absence. In his breezy whisper of a voice, SSlice began an
explanation of his activities over the last couple of
days.

“
I am sorry to keep you waiting,
my friends,” he whispered, “but those symbols on the map nearly
drove me insane. I almost admitted defeat until I realized it is a
riddle in the form of a question and not directions.”

You could have heard a pin drop it was so
quiet in the dining hall. “A riddle you sssay,” hissed Snarth in
puzzlement. “I am correct in assssuming you sssolved the riddle?”
he hissed, demanding an answer.

“
Yes I did, well the first riddle
anyway,” answered SSlice.

“
You mean there was more than
one?” asked the Irishman.

“
Yes, and I solved that one too.
That was the clue I needed to decode the directions to the treasure
planets and their vaults.”

“
You said planets and vaults, as
in more than one?” I asked.

“
How many are there?” hissed
Snarth completing my thought.

“
Dozens of planets with multiple
vaults on each one,” whispered SSlice. “Each of those symbols on
the map is a star chart where a treasure planet is located. Each
treasure planet is the Queen of its system. They use the home
planet of the Ones as the starting point as that is where the sun
they worshiped is. Each of the systems has a very similar star at
its center. All we have to do is find the Temple of the Sun on the
Ones’ home planet and finding the rest of the star systems should
be easy.”

“
And the Onesss’ home world isss
located where?” hissed Snarth.

“
As I feared, the forbidden planet
and the home world of the Ones are the same,” whispered
SSlice.

“
That adds a wrinkle to the plan,”
growled Rowl.

“
Yesss, but how much of a wrinkle
dependsss on how closssely the Galactic Council monitorsss the
forbidden planet,” hissed Snarth, musing his thoughts aloud. “If we
are lucky the monitoring sssystem isss antiquated and easssily
fooled by current technology.”

“
We can hope that failing to
ssshow the planet on any ssstar chartsss for the lassst 500 yearsss
isss the main defenssse mechanisssm,” hissed Snarth as he shook off
his muse, giving his full attention to the problem. “ssSSlice, find
out what you can through the galactic databasssesss and any nearby
sssystemsss that are populated,” he hissed.

“
The ressst of you load the gear
on the ssship including the new toysss I had delivered. I think we
are going to need them if we have to sssearch an entire planet,” he
hissed. “We leave azsss sssoon azsss the gear is loaded. It will
take a week to reach a sssafe jump point for the forbidden planet.
We will ussse that time to analyze the data on how clossse an eye
the galactic council keepsss on the Onesss’ home world. Or even if
they ssstill do,” hissed Snarth.

The next several hours were filled with the
practiced precision of an experienced military unit preparing for a
mission.

I paused, admiring the newest additions to the
team’s gear. Six cycles like the one Snarth used the day he
recruited me. A shiver of excitement ran down my spine at the
memory of that first knuckle-whitening ride. Snarth says that these
are much more sophisticated than his old cycle. Complete with
ground penetrating sensors and better stealth
technology.