The Search for Gram (17 page)

The shuttle touched down, its ramp already in motion. The platoon sprinted out, only to slow down and mill about as they realized there was no enemy to attack or defend against.

“Weirdest damn assault I’ve ever seen,” Master Gunnery Sergeant Bill Hendrick said.

“Okay,” said Night, “we’re here. Now what?”

“Now I’ll take you into my world, but I can only take two at a time. If I take any more, I run the risk of breaking the transporter.”

“We wouldn’t want that,” Gunnery Sergeant Bob ‘Mongo’ Bryant said, “especially after I’m on the other side. Please don’t break it.”

“I’ll go first,” said Night, “along with Master Gunnery Sergeant Hendrick.” He indicated Hendrick to Trella. Hendrick nodded his head and stepped forward. “Before we go, ma’am,” he said, “I’ve got a question that’s been on the minds of some of the troops. Ain’t none of us ever been to another universe before, and we’re all kind of wondering…umm…What happens if we die there?”

Trella looked confused. “You want to know what happens if you die in my universe?” she asked. He nodded his head. “If you die in my universe, you’re dead.”

“Yeah, let’s try to avoid anyone getting dead, okay?” asked Night. “We stay together, we fight as a team and we support each other. We grab our folks, and we get the hell out of there. No one’s dying today. Let’s go.”

He held out his hand to Trella, and she took it with one of her own. Her hand was cool to the touch and felt odd although he couldn’t tell why…until he remembered what it really looked like.

“We all have to be in physical contact,” Trella said, “or it won’t work.”

Night shouldered his rifle and reached over to take Hendrick’s hand.

“Are you ready?” Trella asked.

Night started to nod, but disappeared before he could complete it.

The sky flashed and turned green. A wave of nausea ran through Night, and he dropped to one knee. A splashing noise came from his right as Master Gunnery Sergeant Hendrick threw up.

“The disorientation will pass quickly,” said Trella. “The more times you transfer, the easier it gets.”

“I’ll be fine,” Night said. He looked at Hendrick, who gave him a thumbs-up, along with a wan smile. “Go get the next group.” Trella nodded, touched a button on her rod and disappeared.

“That really sucked, sir,” said Hendrick. “I hope we don’t have to do this too often.”

“She said it gets easier,” replied Night with a wan smile of his own. Mentally forcing his stomach back into place, he stood up. His eyes scanned the surroundings, focused again, looking for danger. His vision didn’t seem to work as well in this universe. They had materialized in an area of rolling hills, similar to the landscape in their universe. Short reddish shrubbery dotted the landscape, with a few larger blue tree analogues scattered widely throughout. Although as tall as trees, they didn’t have leaves; instead, thin strands of something hung down from them.

Night pointed to the hill on his right. “Go take a look from that hilltop,” he said. He nodded to the one on his left. “I’ll check this one. Remember, don’t transmit anything. We don’t want them to know we’re here.”

Hendrick nodded and moved off toward the low hill 70 feet to his right. Night turned and jogged to the other hill, his eyes continuing to scan. His hill was closer, and he climbed up the 10-foot high berm, dropping to his hands and knees as he neared the crest. One of the “trees” was nearby. He still couldn’t tell what the strands were, but he could see them moving, even though the air was still and heavy. Something seemed unhealthy about the way they twitched, and his skin crawled. The tree seemed to lean toward him, and he instinctively edged away from it.

“Don’t let the creeval get any closer to you,” said Trella. Night turned, and she pointed to the tree analog. He saw she was back to her normal, alien appearance; that didn’t make the situation any less creepy. “I don’t know if the spines of the creeval are poisonous to you, but they are certainly poisonous to us. Also, the vines hanging down will grab you and strangle you if you walk underneath them.” She paused and then added, “There’s nothing to see this way in any event.”

She led him back to where Gunnery Sergeant Bob Bryant and Staff Sergeant Alka Zoromski waited. “There may be a problem,” she said. “I did not know you had men made of metal. They may not transfer here. Also, when I try to bring them over, it may break my control rod. What do you want me to do?”

“Bring them last,” said Night, “and one at a time. I don’t want to break the rod, but if we’re going to be outnumbered 20-1, we will need their firepower.”

Unknown System, Unknown Date/Time

“I see it, damn it,” said Rock; “you can stop pointing.” He switched to his comm system. “
Hang on; we’re going to land on a straight stretch of road. It isn’t completely clear of traffic, so things may get a little…bumpy.
”

Rock checked the fuel gauge and saw he was only going to get one chance; after that he was going to be flying a glider. One that wasn’t meant to be a glider. With a big cylinder on top which increased its drag exponentially. He needed to do it right on the first pass because there wouldn’t be a second.

A small column of smoke let him know the direction the wind was blowing, and he flew downwind a mile to the right of the road at 1,200 feet while he surveyed the landing area. Hopefully, not only would the pattern set him up to turn in and land, but also the people driving would get a chance to see him and would get off the road when they saw his intentions.

He extended 10 seconds past the end of the straight section and turned back in, letting his altitude drop slowly with the turn. The right engine coughed, but then settled out as his wings came back to level.

“Looks like there’s a vehicle that’s going to arrive at the touchdown point at the same time we are,” noted K-Mart.

“I see it,” Rock said. “I’m going to need every bit of that section to stop. He better see me coming and move.”

The driver of the vehicle didn’t see them and continued on toward their prospective collision point. At the last second, Rock gave the throttles a nudge, and the fighter jumped forward, just clearing the roof of the vehicle.

“Damn it, I didn’t want to have to do that,” he said. The burst of power changed their touchdown point from the end of the straightaway to about one quarter of the way down its length. As the wheels touched, Rock jumped on the brakes; even so, he could see the fighter wasn’t going to stop before the road turned as it entered a forest.

All of the oncoming traffic saw the giant space fighter taking up both lanes of traffic and got off the road…except for one car, which continued straight at them.

“He’s gotta see us,” said K-Mart.

“You would think…” replied Rock

The vehicle continued toward them.

“He doesn’t see us,” said Rock.

“No, I don’t think he does,” agreed K-Mart, who was looking at the vehicle in his targeting scope. He had a great view of the Sila inside, who was looking down and tapping on something in his lap.

“
Crash positions!
” called Rock.

At the last possible second, the Sila looked up from whatever he was doing. Wide-eyed, he tried to swerve; however, all he succeeded in doing was to lose control of the vehicle as he jerked its control stick to one side. Out of control, it began rolling sideways down the road. Holding the fighter’s control stick firmly, Rock averted his eyes so he wouldn’t have to see the collision.

Still rolling, the car slammed into the right landing gear, tearing off the strut. The fighter’s wingtip crashed to the ground, snapping off the outer 20 feet. The remaining wing dug into the ground and spun the fighter around. Snapping its chains, the space station broke free from
Asp 08
. Launching itself from the left wing, the station hurtled over 100 feet through the air before crashing to the ground and rolling in the direction the fighter had been headed. Not entirely round, imperfections in the space station’s structure caused the station to hop and bounce as it headed toward the trees.

The station had enough momentum to make it to the trees, but not enough to break through the first big trees it came to, and it slammed to a halt.

“
Is everyone okay?
” commed Rock.

“
Aside from some bruises and the fact I am hanging upside down from my seat at the moment, yes,
” replied Chomper. “
Now get us the fuck down!
”

“
On our way,
” said K-Mart. He looked at Rock and asked, “Should we take our weapons or come back and get them?”

“Let’s leave them here,” Rock replied. “We don’t want to look too aggressive on our first meeting with the locals here. Besides, we just saved their astronauts. We’re going to be heroes!”

They exited the fighter and slid down the right wing to the ground. “Any landing you can walk away from is a good one, eh?” asked Rock as he stood up.

“I think Chomper is going to take some convincing if you want him to believe that,” replied K-Mart as he came to his feet.

Rock and K-Mart raced over to the space station. As Chomper had said, it had come to a stop upside down next to a couple of the larger trees.

“Should we try to roll it back upright?” asked Rock.

“I don’t think we can,” replied K-Mart. He pointed to where the space station rested. “The station’s already sunk several inches into the ground. It’s not going anywhere fast. We need to find an entry port.”

The two Terrans went in different directions around the station, looking for a way in.

“Got one,” called K-Mart. He had almost missed the access door. It was partially under the station, and only the top two feet were accessible; fortunately, that included the handle, and the door opened inward. K-Mart opened the door, and both aviators slid into the station on their stomachs.

Rock pulled a light out of his suit and scanned the interior of the station. He got waves or thumbs-up from everyone but Chomper, who saluted him with a single middle finger. He had already removed a glove so Rock could see it better.

The aviators rescued everyone from their seats and let them wiggle out the access port. “After you,” K-Mart said, waving Rock ahead of him. He followed his pilot through the doorway and stood up to find the other Terrans with their hands up, surrounded by Sila troops.

“I should have listened to you and brought my rifle,” said Rock. “If those aren’t guns they’re holding, I don’t know what they are.”

“The queen hungers,” said the colonel, touching both claws to his chest.

“The eggs hatch,” replied the captain, mimicking the gesture.

“Report.”

“The caliph and his vizier are in the containment cells, along with two foreigners.”

“Foreigners?” asked the colonel. “Where are they from?”

“I believe they are from the other universe,” replied the captain. “We caught the caliph’s daughters sneaking them into the palace. It is obvious they are conspiring with the other universe. I suspect they are bringing in weapons to the Sila so they can try to overthrow us.”

“They
have
seemed more restive recently,” said the colonel. “If they were making weapons themselves, I think our spies would have informed us. If they were bringing them in from the other universe, though…we might not have heard about it yet.”

“Those were my thoughts as well, sir.”

“Obviously, you must torture the information out of them. Find out what they know. Just make sure you don’t kill them too fast, like you did the last prisoners. They don’t make good examples if you burn them after they are already dead.”

“Yes, sir,” replied the captain. “I will make sure I get
all
the information from them. It will be a challenge, as the foreigners do not seem to speak either our language or the language of the Sila.”

“They may be feigning ignorance,” replied the colonel. “After all, how would they do business with the Sila if they couldn’t understand them? It makes no sense. They obviously speak the language. Perhaps they just need a little
persuasion
.”

“I will do my best.”

“I know you will,” said the colonel with a smile. “Oh, yes…I know you will.”

“It no longer functions,” said Trella, holding out the rod to Night. She had transported all of the Terran soldiers without a problem, but the third time she brought a cyborg, a loud ‘pop’ was heard from the rod on arrival. Now it appeared dead, leaving Gunnery Sergeant Dantone stranded back in their universe.

“How often does this happen?” asked Night. “Will it work again later?”

“This never happens,” said Trella. “Once they cease functioning, they never work again.”

“Not working?” asked Corporal Michael Higuchi. “Wait a minute. If it’s not working, how are we getting home?”

“We’re going to get home however the captain says,” replied Master Gunnery Sergeant Bill Hendrick. “And he’ll figure it out a lot faster if you shut the hell up and let him think. See that bush over there?” He pointed to a bush about 50 yards away. “Go set up a perimeter over there and watch for Efreet.” The soldier jogged off.

Hendrick cocked his head and looked at the control rod. “So, sir, how
are
we getting home?”

“Damned if I know,” said Night; “however, I
do
know the CO’s in a jail, and we’re not leaving without him, so it really doesn’t fucking matter
how
the fuck we’re getting home at the moment now, does it?”

“When you put it that way, sir, no it doesn’t.”

“Good. Get the troops rounded up and ready to travel. We’re leaving
right now!
”

“Yes, sir!” Hendrick jogged off, already issuing orders. He didn’t know much about the whole crossing universes thing, but moving out troops was something he understood
very
well.

“Since it doesn’t work, can I have it?” asked Night, pointing at the control rod.

“Yes,” said Trella, handing it to him. “I don’t know if you are going to try to fix it, but I wouldn’t open it if I were you. I hear they catch fire when opened.”

“Like I told the master gunnery sergeant, we’ll worry about it once we’ve rescued the prisoners. It looks like the troops are ready; take us where we need to go. And hurry!”

“This way,” Trella said, waving to get Hendrick’s attention. He nodded, and she ran off, her silks blowing in the wind.

“Move out,” ordered Hendricks, and the point men started after Trella, with the rest of the platoon in close pursuit. He pulled Witch aside as she passed. “Keep an eye on the Aesir,” he said. “Don’t let them get lost.”

“Wouldn’t dat be a good thing for one of the newbies to do?” asked Sergeant Andrews.

“No, it would be a good thing for
you
to fucking do,” replied Hendrick.

“Ya, mon,” said the Jamaican sergeant with a mental sigh. “I’m on it.”

The platoon didn’t have far to go; after a five minute run, Trella stopped and reached into one of the little bushes that covered the landscape.

“We’re here,” she said. With a small ‘click,’ a small trap door appeared on the ground. “This tunnel will allow us to get to the prison without the Efreet seeing us.”

“Is that the same tunnel you used earlier to go to the castle?” asked Night.

“Yes it is,” replied Trella. “Why?”

“Because I thought you said the Efreet knew about the tunnel. It may not be safe any longer.”

“There is no other way to get to the prison undetected,” said Trella. “With the control rod broken, I can’t even change your appearance. You would be spotted in an instant, and dead shortly thereafter. The Efreet have a saying, ‘Kill first and ask questions later.’”

“We have a similar saying when it comes to fighting enemies,” said Night, “but that one will work just as well.” He looked into the tunnel and made up his mind. “We’ll use the tunnel system, but my men will lead.”

“I would be quite happy to have them lead,” said Trella. “If the Efreet are in the tunnels, their flamecasters will be deadly.”

“Zoromski, Yokaze, you two have point,” said Night. “Watch for the Efreet. They may be down there with us. They have flame weapons. If you see them, don’t wait for orders; kill them on contact.”

Both men nodded in acknowledgement and started toward the tunnel.

“They should stop when we reach the second cross passage,” said Trella. “We will need to turn there.”

The two men nodded again and went into the tunnel. Yokaze was as silent as a ninja; Zoromski not much louder. They went down the ramp and slowed to let their eyes adjust to the gloom. Although there were no lights in the tunnel, something in the walls gave off enough light to see a short distance. They began moving down the passageway with Yokaze on the left and Zoromski on the right.

After they passed the first cross passage, Yokaze stopped suddenly. When Zoromski looked over, Yokaze gave him the hand signal to withdraw. Both men retreated about 50 feet down the tunnel.

“What’s wrong?” whispered Zoromski.

“Didn’t you smell them?” asked Yokaze. “They have a musty smell, almost fishy in nature.”

“They?”

“Hai!” said Yokaze softly. “I heard something from both sides of the tunnel. I think there are at least two of them.”

“I’ll take the one on the right,” said Zoromski. “You get the one on the left.”

“When you are ready, kill him; I will kill mine at the same time.”

Zoromski nodded and brought his FN FAL rifle to the ready. He gave Yokaze a couple of seconds and then advanced down the tunnel. As he passed the cross passage, he began to notice the musty odor Yokaze had mentioned. Just a little on the fishy side of smelly sweat socks. Zoromski knew he was close, and his eyes scanned back and forth as he crept down the tunnel. After a couple of steps, he could see the outline of an Efreeti. He couldn’t see the creature, so much as he could see the lack of luminescence behind it.

The Efreeti moved a little as it readjusted its position, giving Zoromski the chance to see where its head was. The Terran took one more breath and slowly released it while stroking the trigger. As the suppressor on his rifle coughed, he heard a muffled ‘twang.’ Both Efreet fell backward.

He approached the pair and saw they were both dead. His had a bullet hole in the center of its forehead; Yokaze’s had a crossbow bolt sticking out of its left eye.

Fifteen feet beyond the sentries was the second cross passage. “We’re here,” said Yokaze. “If you would like to get our guide, I will watch out for the enemy.”

Zoromski left and reappeared a minute later with Trella and Night. “We go left here,” said Trella.

“What lies down these other passageways?” asked Night.

“If you continue straight down the tunnel, you will come to the castle exit,” Trella replied. “The tunnel to the right leads to another spot in the forest we use to go to a neighboring town.”

Night pointed at the center passage. “So, this is where the Efreet are most likely to come from when they notice their sentries aren’t reporting?”

Trella nodded. “Yes,” she said. “The jail exit is disguised, so they probably won’t have found it yet. We left the end of the tunnel unfinished in case any of the Efreet ever made it down here.”

“Tanker, front and center,” Night said in a forced whisper. Corporal Patrick ‘Tanker’ Harris eased his way to the front, the other troopers making room for the cyborg to pass.

“Tanker, I want you and Yokaze to guard this center passage,” said Night. “If the Efreet come looking for their troops, they will be coming from this direction. I need you to hold this passage so we can get back out again.”

“Will do, sir,” said Corporal Harris. Yokaze gave a short nod of acknowledgement.

“Lead on,” Night said to Trella. “I’m sure we’re running out of time.”