Battle Earth VII (18 page)

The man rushed in to his aid but looked completely clueless as to what was happening. Tsengal flat lined and went still. The doctor was pushing needles into him and pulled down a hinged device from the ceiling, placing it over Tsengal's heart. His body spasmed again as electricity pulsed through his body in an attempt to revive him.

"No, we can't lose him now. Save him!" Taylor begged.

The Doctor was trying everything, but to no avail, and then he stopped.

"What are you giving up for?" screamed Taylor.

"I am sorry, Colonel, but he's gone."

"Gone? He just recovered!"

"I don't understand it, something has shocked his body, but I can't see how."

"Well find out!"

He was looking over everything until finally he checked the nutritional drip that led into his body. He opened up the container the line was drawing from and recoiled at the smell.

"What is it?"

"Not that I know for certain, but I'd say he's been poisoned with something truly nasty. If it is what I'm thinking, he didn't stand a chance."

Taylor turned to Ryan with sheer hatred in his eyes.

"Get guards on Armand now!"

"Sir, he's an UEN Councillor. What if we're wrong?"

Taylor simply glared back at him until he did as ordered.

"All right, but this is on you."

It was obvious Ryan had a hard time believing the facts they had been presented with, but that was no surprise to Taylor. They were as bad as news could expect to be. Taylor heard shouts down the corridor and more over his comms channel. He rushed out of the room. Ryan was at the end of the corridor attending to an unconscious crewmember.

An alarm sounded throughout the ship as he rushed to the Captain.

"Where is Armand?"

"They've gone. We've got two wounded."

Taylor drew his pistol and rushed for the ramp out of the ship. He found Jafar and the other crew with their weapons at the ready but utterly unaware of what the emergency was.

"Where's Armand?"

"Departed by car about thirty seconds ago, Sir!"

"Fuck!" he screamed.

"What are your orders, Sir?"

"You stay put. Be extra vigilant, and report and all suspicious activity. Councillor Armand is to be considered an enemy agent from now on!"

They all looked confused but did as ordered. He paced up to Jafar so he could talk more privately, but he did not attempt to break the news softly.

"Tsengal is dead. Killed by that coward Armand. He's one of the clones, or reprogrammed humans, whatever they are. Like we saw back in the war. Tsengal confirmed it and was killed because of it."

"Then his duty has been done."

Taylor seemed surprised by the comment.

"How so?"

"His last orders were to return to you with news of what he had seen. He accomplished that, did he not?"

"Well, yeah."

"Then his death was not in vain and his mission accomplished."

Mitch got what he meant, but it didn't make him any less angry about the situation. He rushed back aboard the ship. Ryan was awaiting him at the top of the ramp.

"Casualties?"

"Two wounded. They'll be okay."

"Everything that Tsengal told us before he died, you have records of?"

He shook his head.

"Armand had our surveillance and recording drives fried before he left. Onboard cameras are still in operation, but they're not recording anything they see."

"So we've got no evidence of either Tsengal's report, or of Armand's escape and assault on the crew?"

He shook his head once again.

"This is turning from shit to worse, Captain. Tell me you have some good news."

"I wish I did, Sir."

He stopped for a moment, trying to think who he could go to with the news. He knew he had no choice but to go to General White, the commanding officer who wanted to hear nothing more from him for years to come.

"Come with me, Captain. We need to talk to White."

"Why me, Sir?"

"Because besides me, you're the only one who heard Tsengal's story, and you think he'll take my word for it?"

They stepped into Taylor's personal quarters and put the call through. The General's secretary answered.

"Put me through to the General," he commanded.

"I'm sorry, but the General is otherwise engaged."

"The World is going to shit, and we might just have some information which could save it, so put me through to the fucking General!" he screamed.

The officer seemed taken aback by the response, but like many on the base, he knew Taylor's reputation and found it hard to say no.

"All right, Colonel, transferring you now."

The General appeared before him and looked flustered.

"What the hell do you want, Colonel? Haven't you caused enough trouble?"

"Tsengal, Sir, he woke up and has revealed some vital new information."

"This better be good, Taylor. I'm a busy man."

"It'll blow your mind."

He had the General's attention now.

"Taylor, you've got my attention."

"You remember the human incubation chambers we found during the wars, Sir?"

"I heard about them, never did manage to get any looked at by experts."

"No, because the enemy had them destroyed before we could learn the truth. Red 1, where Colonel Chandra and Tsengal were left; deep underground they found God knows how many humans like that, maybe millions."

"Wait, wait, wait. Just hold up there, Colonel. You're telling me in alien space, on the alien planet, Chandra discovered these humans?"

"Yes, Sir. I'm still no closer to understanding if they're some kind of test tube creations or reprogrammed prisoners from the first war or what, but what I do know is that at least one now walks among us on Earth, confirmed by Tsengal with his own eyes."

White still seemed baffled by the whole thing.

"This is all sounding like crazy talk, Colonel. Get to the punch line."

"Sir, they're infiltrating governments, starting wars, weakening humanity from within. Councillor Armand is one of them, and is just one at the heart of it in the UEN. I bet the US government has these spies embedded, too."

"Why am I only just hearing about this now, and from you? These are big claims, Colonel. You better be able to back them up. I want Tsengal returned immediately for questioning by our top people here Stateside."

"He's dead, Sir."

"He's what?"

"Murdered by Armand and his people before they managed to slip off this ship."

"What other evidence do you have besides your word?"

"Mine, Sir," Captain Ryan stated.

"Great, one of Taylor’s fan club ain't gonna cut it. What do you have that is real, that can prove this, that will convince anyone this crazy story is true?"

"Nothing," he replied with a sigh.

"Then it is nothing; hearsay, scuttlebutt, and a waste of my goddamn time. The World is in real trouble, Colonel. We need real solutions. Get your ass back here immediately, and forget all this nonsense until such time as you have some actual proof. Get your head screwed on, Taylor. We may well need your skills in the days and months to come."

The transmission cut out, and the two of them were left speechless.

"So that's it? We can't prove it, so he won't believe us?" asked Ryan.

"Does seem pretty farfetched until you have seen all we have seen."

"Then what now? We can't go home and forget all this?"

"No, we'll just have to find another way."

"It is the second day of fighting at the Gafsa prison, and Spanish forces now occupy the northern sector and claim to have executed up to fifteen hundred alien prisoners. Meanwhile UEN forces continue to gain in number and dig into their positions. Casualties on both sides are now numbering in the hundreds, and there seems little hope for a ceasefire."

Taylor, Jafar, and Ryan sat around the conference table fixated on the news. They had talked most of the night over what to do with the information they had and still not come up with an answer.

"You think Armand will come gunning for us?" asked Ryan.

"No, not yet. Right now we're a US vessel on peacetime operations. He can't touch us. At least not until we go after him."

"So what now, then?"

"We need to find someone who will listen to us. Someone who can spread the word."

"Who do we know who we can trust?"

"Those who fought with us in the wars," he replied.

"Like who?"

"We'll start with Dupont."

"I thought the guy hated you and you hated him right back?"

"Yeah, but when you start running out of friends..."

He put the call through, and Dupont answered personally. He clearly knew who was calling and smiled as he answered. It was a slightly sleazy smirk. Taylor didn't know how to take the man anymore. He seemed to have humanity’s interests at heart, but they simply rarely got on.

"Colonel Taylor, you must be in some real trouble to be calling on me?"

"You got it, General. You know how the World is turning, and I know it was your boys who took Spiteri."

"Come on, Colonel, that's a little farfetched."

"I know because I was there. I saw their uniforms and tussled with them personally."

His face turned from a smile, realising Taylor wasn't bluffing.

"But I don't care about any of that. What I care about is stopping this damn war before it blows up in all our faces."

"That's out of my hands. France wants the aliens dead, and nobody should stand in her way."

"Not at any cost?"

"You've obviously got something to say, so get on with it, Colonel."

He took a deep breath and tried to find a way of making it sound believable.

"We have reason to believe alien programmed or cloned humans have infiltrated governments, certainly in Europe, and probably elsewhere, and are pushing all sides to war, in an attempt to destabilise the World ready for another attack."

Dupont burst out into laughter, and Taylor didn't blame him. It did sound absurd when there was no first-hand account or evidence backing it up.

"Colonel, I'm glad to see you still have a sense of humour, but I really do have work to do. Thank you for the entertainment, though," he replied and ended the call.

"Figures," said Taylor. "I guess if we can't convince one side, we'll just have to work the other."

He put a call through to General Schulz and was met by one of his staff he did not recognise.

"Please put me through to General Schulz. I have important news."

"I am sorry, but the General is extremely busy."

"I'm not wasting anyone's time here. It is vital I am put through to the General."

"The fact you got through to his office at all is only a courtesy due to who you are, but any information you have can be relayed when the General has time."

As Taylor began to speak, he saw Schulz appear in the corner of the screen. He must have heard Taylor's voice and decided to investigate. He said something in German to his officer before taking over the comms himself.

"You have something important for me, Colonel?" he asked bluntly. "Please be short and to the point."

"Yes, Sir. The simple fact is, humans working for the Krys have infiltrated elements of government in Europe and elsewhere and are pouring petrol on the flames of war."