An Alien Rescue (48 page)

“O
K, ya piece of Grey shit. Where are they?” demanded Scott in a raised voice as the door closed behind him.

The
grey moved towards what looked like a desk upon which stood another screen. He wrote his answer, having correctly deciphered the man’s loud and harsh words through gritted growling teeth. He didn’t know how his neck hadn’t broken off his body following the ape-man’s applied pressure, having had it compressed tighter than a white-dwarf ever could, he felt. The sight of the man’s fur repelled him; it was also on the back of his hands and his face seemed to get hairier as time passed by. Oh, how he started to look forward to having them caught and enslaved. His own need for revenge began to drive him harder, becoming ruthless about getting them caught. But he knew he would have to be careful, for should he be suspected of treason the male would undoubtedly tear him apart like the animal he surely was.

The words appeared and Belinda read them aloud. “They are situated within subterranean caverns beneath the base where it is so cold there are crystals of methane gas in the surrounding strata. It’s a very hazardous area, but the crystals help to maintain an oxygen free zone as well as supplying fuel for the base. Scott was thinking what a fantastic place this was. It had everything installed for survival, including its very own
natural fuel supplies. It would be one hell of a base too, he compared; as long as you had a submarine to access it.

“Or a Grey ship,” Belinda added with a frown. “I heard your thoughts, Scott. You allowed yourself to slip again, although only just. They were quiet, but I heard them. You must be more careful.”

“I heard them as well,” Phyllis piped in from closer to the door.

“Oh, Jesus,” he said.

The Grey remained silent and didn’t move. He had also heard him, certain that others did too. There followed a bit of a commotion regarding telepathic communications between base personnel. Messages were becoming a bit more frequent than previously, where there was only an occasional one or two, but it was now quickly turning into dozens. Belinda’s eyes widened as she said, “We are discovered.”

“Holy shit! And it’s all my fault. Blast and double blast!”

It seemed to both women that Scott would have punched himself for being so careless if he could have. Just as Belinda was about to start giving orders to evacuate, Phyllis burst out with, “
I can feel my hands. They are tingling as if there are thousands of needles sticking in them
.” The others almost jumped out of their wits as she made her dramatic announcement. Her words knocked Belinda off track momentarily as she felt pleased for her pilot, but couldn’t bring herself to plan any celebrations for the future.
There I go again, pure sarcasm
, she thought, surprising herself for the second time.

Scott stepped across to Phyllis, feeling as pleased about her hands as she did, while still being extremely annoyed with himself.

Belinda regained her thoughts. “Everyone must remain silent. The less they know about us the better it will be. They may still not know where we are and I doubt if they know how many we number.”

Belinda returned her attention to the grey. “We want our friends delivered here, right now, this
instant. Get them… Now!”

She was not in the mood to be messed around with, Scott recognised. He understood he had better be on his best behaviour after his
latest major fuck-up. How she had kept her composure following his error, where she had so matter-of-factly brought it to his attention that he had probably scuppered their mission.
She was one hell of a woman, was Belinda,
he thought.
Almost as much woman as… Frell!
Having thought her name he knew he had to save her and Drang. He almost dragged the Grey back to the desk, throwing him bodily at it. “Belinda. Tell him to bring them here, now!”

“I have already told him.”

“Then he’s getting awfully hard of hearing ‘cause he’s hardly fucking moving.”

She nodded at his comment, recognising the grey had suddenly slowed down a notch or two on the get-up-and-go scale. She ran across the floor and grabbed his throat, taking the Grey by complete surprise. His eyes practically popped out of his head at the sudden pressure. He was only expecting violence from the man because the colony-humans were supposed to be docile. Scott was struck dumb by her suddenness and violent nature. Phyllis urged her to tear him apart, but only after their friends had been returned. She too was astounded by the
se feelings. Scott saw the look on their faces, refraining from commenting on either of their reactions. He was in no position to judge or comment. The grey struggled with his hands, trying to loosen her grip. She was choking him to death while still telling him to return her friends. Scott saw the grey’s dilemma. He probably wanted to return them but couldn’t because his neck was basically being strangled while the holes in his skull were being deafened by her thunderous demands. He had to intervene before she strangled the thing that croaked with huge bulging eyes sticking out of its head. It was the widest grey mouth he had ever seen. He had spotted two separate rows of little pointed teeth, reminding him of a fish. The horror-struck Grey staggered backwards, almost collapsing after Belinda released her unrelenting iron grip. Her blood pressure was up and she was ready to rip this thing apart with her bare hands if her friends didn’t arrive within the next few seconds. Scott gave her a huge hug, allowing her to feel his warmth surrounding her. She seemed to shake for a moment before recovering her senses. She eagerly wrapped her arms around him, returning his squeeze with just as much enthusiasm.

He whispered in an ear, “We need the slimy toad to return Frell and Drang, then you can turn him into cubes for all I care.”

Her breathing had quietened and the shaking finished. The adrenalin was still surging through her body and was still more than ready to lynch the grey that seemed to smirk in front of her. And yet, she considered, it couldn’t really be smirking at her… could it? The thought of it possibly enjoying her bout of anger was just about enough to persuade her to finally rip its head off... until it returned to the desk control and began to punch in a set of orders. She hesitated, waiting to see what was about to happen.

Scott asked, “How the hell do we defrost them when they get here?”

Between watching what the grey was doing while trying to work out his actions regarding the delivery of two frozen bodies, it took her a moment or two for his words to register. She couldn’t help releasing a laugh. The frustration and the pent-up anger had found the release it needed. Scott’s words had hit the release spot as she found herself laughing loudly. Scott and Belinda could only look on, wondering if
she
had succumbed to pressure and blown a fuse herself. Phyllis carefully approached on tip toes; she didn’t wish to startle her. Why there should be laughter confused her.

“Belinda
? Hi. It’s me.” Phyllis introduced herself, not knowing what kind of reaction she might receive. She hoped Belinda wouldn’t apply the same punishment she had just witnessed the grey receiving. She just didn’t know what to expect. Instead of the half-expected strangulation, Belinda turned and placed an arm across Phyllis’s shoulders.

There were
more tears of laughter as she said, “Scott thinks Frell and Drang need defrosting.” She almost collapsed into another fit of laughter. Regaining her composure quicker than before. She added, to Phyllis with obvious joviality in her voice, “It sounds as if we’re going to cook them in a microwave oven.”

Phyllis finally understood her reasons for hilarity and laughed as well, although not quite so enthusiastically. Belinda had been ever so close to breaking down, hearing his joke had allowed her internal pressure to vent itself, bursting the dam of emotions and despair. Both her companions understood why she was laughing as much as she was, joining in
to the merriment. The Grey stood motionless, looking bewildered with a blank expression while trying to hide the increasing level of contempt. He wondered how he might possibly have considered working and living with violent and unstable animals such as these instead of continuing to work with the higher level of intellect which the Empire stood for. He would rather die than work for these… animals!

“So,” said Scott after the laughter had faded. “If we are not going to cook them in a microwave, then how are we going to
defrost
them?”

Another few giggles
were released from the ladies. “There is more to microwave radiation than you realise, Scott,” Belinda answered.

“Yes,” agreed Phyllis, “The application for radiation is much more numerous than any of your scientists have so far understood.”

Scott immediately saw the implications of their replies, wondering what magic and technological marvels had been carelessly overlooked. “Okay. Go on then, surprise me with just one… No! On second thoughts, make it two?”

The ladies looked at one another. Phyllis was first to speak. Microwave radiation can be used to make a traction beam.” Scott considered it within his mind, recalling the many episodes of Star Trek on his television set
at home. Scott imagined the picture of an invisible beam with the ability to lift and move objects. He also recalled being lifted into the Grey ship on the moon.

“Eh… how the heck would that work then?” he asked while trying to formulate a scientific theory.

“By taking the radiation as separate strands and twisting them like a rope before containing the ends with powerful induction fields. The strength of the arm, as it becomes, is tantamount to one of the hardest and toughest metals in the universe.”

His imagination saw a twisted rope made of microwave energy,
before wondering how it might actually grasp an item.

“Yeah, okay, I can accept what you say, but only because I know I can trust you.” Neither woman commented on his compliment, although both suspected he wanted a thank you from themselves for
his
trust in them. “But, and this is a big but. How can the arm take hold of an object?”

Again, Phyllis answered. “By using
fluctuating magnetic claws and virtual clamps.”

“Which is easy to say,” he butted in with.

Belinda took her turn. “The radiation is strong enough to move almost anything and the magnetic flux is so powerful it can be used to bend metal should it be needed to.”

He rubbed his chin in concentration, eventually wiping
a hand across his mouth. “How can you generate enough magnetism to do such a thing?” he asked mystified.

Belinda continued. “There are many things in space which you
still do not know about, and
will
not for a very long time to come. However, there are more and more new discoveries being made each and every year by human scientists that give cause for concern to many species. And one of these has recently been identified, the one that concerns the strongest magnetic flux in the cosmos.”

“Which is?” he asked urging her to tell him, hoping she wouldn’t say she couldn’t.

“It is the collision of two neutron stars.”

He waited for a moment, thinking there was more to come, but there wasn’t. “And…?” he urged her.

She was aware there might be a danger in telling him such information, but decided he deserved to hear some more of the magic she knew. “The collision creates a strong magnetic force that can be utilised in many wondrous applications. By simulating the collision effect within localised apparatus, it allows the flux to be used as a claw and clamp on the end of a traction beam.”

“That’s… fan
-flippin-tastic!”
I hope I remember that piece of valuable info
, he thought. “And what’s the other thing you can impress me with?” he asked.

Phyllis stepped forward, indicating she wished to answer him. “A force field,” she said.

“Yo! A force field like there is around your ships?” He almost yelped, startling the others, including the Grey who seemed to leap backwards by the loud retort. “I could really do with one of those on my motorcycle and car.”

“Mmm, yes, I suppose there would be some benefits,” she added while thinking of
Earth’s inferior machines.

“Benefit? Damned right there would be! It would keep the other cars away, especially the dreaded Volvo and Volkswagen drivers, not forgetting the crappy weather that lashes down from time to time. Yes, I could certainly do with a force field around my bike and car.”

He seemed deep in thought as he imagined tearing across the rain drenched countryside while wearing a pair of denim jeans and t-shirt, observing disbelieving onlookers. Within his dynamic mind he could see the wet surface impossibly drying as the field pushed the water away.

“So how does that work then?”
He finally managed to ask.

Phyllis explained. “Like the traction beam, the energy beam is twisted and combined to increase its energy strength, giving it
absolute mass. But in this instance it is also stretched, like a flat sheet before being curved to follow the contours of the field generating vessel. This is done twice, one sheet overlying the other, almost like a double skin. And forming between the sheets is an even stronger magnetic field, an amazingly dense field of fluctuating flux that is so strong it repels almost everything that attempts to get through it. It is the microwave radiation that contains the flux, giving the field its shape, direction and limitations. It is all very simple once the physics have been worked out and implemented.”